Dr. Robert Redfield, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told Newsmax on Wednesday he was uncertain about the motives of a Chinese researcher arrested on suspicion of smuggling roundworms into the United States.
According to the Department of Justice, Chengxuan Han was charged on Monday after admitting to investigators she had sent four packages from Wuhan, China, containing "biological material related to round worms" to the University of Michigan.
The charges follow shortly after DOJ charged two other Chinese researchers at the University of Michigan last week in connection with smuggling a crop-killing fungus into the U.S.
When asked by "American Agenda" for his take on the situation, Redfield replied: "I really don't know. They said it was roundworms, which, you know, there's a series of animal, human pathogens that are" associated with "different types of worms that can cause different types of disease in animals and in humans."
He later added: "I don't know exactly what the roundworms were doing. They can cause a series of human and animal disease, so it's hard for me to know what their motivation was."
Redfield left the question of possible nefarious intent open, noting that if such researchers wanted to get a "permit" to study roundworms, it would not be difficult, so attempts to circumvent official channels are "disconcerting."
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Nick Koutsobinas ✉
Nick Koutsobinas, a Newsmax writer, has years of news reporting experience. A graduate from Missouri State University’s philosophy program, he focuses on exposing corruption and censorship.
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