An Indiana University researcher was convicted of smuggling E. coli in the US
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A Chinese researcher has been sentenced to more than four months in prison after pleading guilty to smuggling Escherichia coli (E. coli) into the United States, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.
Youhuang Xiang, 32, a postdoctoral researcher at Indiana University and originally from China, admitted to hiding E. coli DNA in a shipment from China that was falsely labeled as women’s underwear, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana.
Prosecutors said the FBI also found evidence that Xiang was a member of the Chinese Communist Party and lied about his cooperation with immigration authorities. Authorities said the case raises concerns about public safety and the integrity of federally funded research.
“Such behavior threatens public safety and the health of our agricultural economy,” said US Attorney Tom Wheeler.
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Dissect image of a bacterial sample of E. coli in the lab and Chinese researcher Youhuang Xiang (iStock; FBI Indianapolis)
Authorities said Xiang found the package at his residence in Bloomington, Indiana, in March 2024 after it was shipped from a Chinese company and mislabeled on the manifest to avoid detection.
According to court documents, the FBI’s Indianapolis Division began investigating suspicious shipments from China to individuals connected to Indiana University in November 2025. Agents determined that Xiang received a shipment from Guangzhou Sci-Tech Innovation Trading that was advertised as “Man-Made Fibers, Other Womens Underwear.” Investigators found an unusual shipment, as the company focuses on scientific and technological products.
He was later stopped by US Customs and Border Protection officers at Chicago O’Hare International Airport in November 2025 when he returned from his research trip to the United Kingdom. Authorities said he initially denied having knowledge of the shipment before admitting that the contents had intentionally concealed DNA samples of E. coli bacteria, according to court documents.
IE. coli is a bacteria that lives in the gut but can cause serious illness if dangerous strains spread.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands during a meeting with Communist Party of Vietnam General Secretary To Lam at the Party Central Committee Office in Hanoi on April 14, 2025. (Nhac Nguyen/AFP)
“Those who attempt to smuggle biological substances into the United States are putting themselves at great risk to public safety,” said FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. O’Malley.
The judge sentenced Xiang to more than four months in prison, as well as a fine and supervised release, and ordered that he be removed from the United States following his sentence.
“This member of the Chinese Communist Party exploited federally funded research funds … to smuggle dangerous biological materials into the United States,” said USDA Inspector General John Walk.
The case is part of a broader pattern of recent prosecutions involving foreign researchers accused of smuggling biological materials into the US.
In November, federal prosecutors charged three Chinese nationals with conspiring to smuggle biological materials into the US while working at the University of Michigan’s Shawn Xu Laboratory, alleging that they made false statements to shipping authorities to bring worm-related materials from China.
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Visa applicants arrive at the US embassy in China. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)
Authorities said the suspects were involved in the J-1 visa program and allegedly obtained assets that were hidden from a China-based researcher who was previously convicted of similar crimes and removed from the US.
In another case in February 2025, a Russian-born Harvard researcher was arrested at Boston Logan International Airport for allegedly smuggling frog embryos into the country without proper permits. Authorities say the items were found after the scientist initially denied that he was in possession of a biological substance. He was later released from federal custody while the case was pending.
