After COVID, Now 'Agri Terrorism': 2 Chinese Researchers Caught Smuggling Crop-Killing Fungus into U.S.

International News: After the accusations of spreading Corona epidemic, now China has been caught red-handed in another dangerous conspiracy. This time the case is related to Agricultural Terrorism, which has posed a great threat to America's food security and the global agricultural system.

The FBI has arrested two Chinese citizens — Yunqing Jian (33) and Junyong Liu (34). It is alleged that they had conspired to smuggle Fusarium Head Blight (FHB), a dangerous fungus that destroys wheat crops, into America.

Chinese Communist Party Se Hain Sangham

It has been revealed in the investigation that both the accused are associated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and they were receiving financial support from the Chinese government for research. According to FBI Director Kush Patel, Yunqing Jian delivered the fungus to a lab at the University of Michigan, while Liu tried to bring it to the US from the Detroit airport in July 2024.

FHB: Biological Weapons for Farming

The FHB fungus is highly destructive to cereal crops such as wheat, barley, maize and rice. It infects grains by penetrating through microscopic pores in plants and produces toxic substances like deoxynivalenol (DON) in them, which can cause problems like vomiting in humans and infertility in animals. Infected grain becomes inedible and seriously affects the global food chain.

10 billion dollars in annual crop damage

Experts say that this fungus destroys crops worth 10 billion dollars worldwide every year. It is being seen as a serious threat to food supply and national security. US Attorney Jerome Gorgon Jr. called the revelations "an attack on national security".

India also has to be vigilant

After this revelation, there is a wave of anxiety on Indian social media. Experts and ordinary citizens say that if China can make such a biological conspiracy against a powerful country like America, then India also needs to be on high alert. Agricultural research institutes, border inspection agencies and seed-breeding companies are being advised to be vigilant.