By Paul Crespo March 31, 2020
Several cases of Chinese nationals attempting to bring samples of highly contagious pathogens into the United States prompted an FBI warning of China’s “biosecurity risk” to the U.S. The Chemical and Biological Intelligence Unit of the FBI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate (WMDD) issued the warning in November 2019, just weeks before the world heard of the first reported cases of a dangerous new coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China.
The FBI’s Tactical Intelligence Report, cited by Yahoo News, states:
The Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate assesses foreign scientific researchers who transport undeclared and undocumented biological materials into the United States in their personal carry-on and/or checked luggage almost certainly present a US biosecurity risk. The WMDD makes this assessment with high confidence based on liaison reporting with direct access.
The FBI report cited several cases of Chinese nationals bringing dangerous pathogens into the US, but the most recent example occurred in September 2019. According to Yahoo News, the report described a Chinese National bringing a vial potentially containing a sample of H1N1 “Swine Flu” Influenza into the US at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW), deceptively claiming it was something else.
The FBI’s Tactical Intelligence Report, cited by Yahoo News, states:
The Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate assesses foreign scientific researchers who transport undeclared and undocumented biological materials into the United States in their personal carry-on and/or checked luggage almost certainly present a US biosecurity risk. The WMDD makes this assessment with high confidence based on liaison reporting with direct access.
The FBI report cited several cases of Chinese nationals bringing dangerous pathogens into the US, but the most recent example occurred in September 2019. According to Yahoo News, the report described a Chinese National bringing a vial potentially containing a sample of H1N1 “Swine Flu” Influenza into the US at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW), deceptively claiming it was something else.
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