Secret scheme to smuggle deadly toxins from University of Florida to China BUSTED

06/06/2024 / By Kevin Hughes

The Department of Justice (DOJ) uncovered a secret Chinese scheme at the University of Florida (UF) involving a researcher and students smuggling dangerous biotoxins to China.

Based on federal court records, a research employee and students at UF have been connected to this illegal, multimillion-dollar plot.

The plan involved the false purchase of thousands of biochemical samples of dangerous drugs and poisonous substances, which were then illegally sent to China over seven years after being brought to a campus laboratory. (Related: CCP planning to get more Americans addicted to drugs, says former DEA boss.)

The president of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association at UF was one of the students involved in the scheme.

The group publicly opposed a Florida law that was passed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis last year that limits the admission of Chinese teachers and students to higher education institutions. It also prevents hiring Chinese students to work in academic labs without special permission.

The student, Nongnong “Leticia” Zheng, disclosed in a recent interview that she was the subject of a grand jury investigation last year and that the Justice Department was preparing to file criminal charges against her. Ryan Maguire, a federal public defender from Tampa, was assigned to handle her case.

Zheng, a marketing major, allegedly consented to change her UF email signature to pose as a biomedical engineering student to make purchases without drawing suspicion.

In an interview with a campus news service, Zheng said the scheme’s administrators had deceived and abused her. She added that they had asked the Chinese student organization for assistance in finding paid interns. International students with study visas have restrictions on how or if they may work for payment.

“This case seems to be really big. What I was doing was, like, just a little work, and I didn’t get paid that much,” Zheng said.

Prosecutors identified the scheme’s ringleader as Pen “Ben” Yu, 51, of Gibsonton, Florida. Yu has pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and faces up to 20 years in jail as well as a $1 million fine when he is sentenced on August 2.

The Justice Department said Yu presented Zheng with a credit card to place dozens of fake orders last year.

Goods smuggled into China include pertussis toxin and cholera toxin

The goods smuggled into China included what the government claimed to be pure, non-contagious forms of whooping cough or pertussis toxin and cholera toxin.

Cholera, a potentially deadly intestinal illness, can result in serious dehydration. Whooping cough is a highly infectious bacterial disease that can cause severe coughing, vomiting and even respiratory difficulties.

Small amounts of highly pure pharmaceuticals, called analytical samples, along with fentanyl, morphine, MDMA, cocaine, ketamine, codeine, methamphetamine, amphetamine, acetylmorphine and methadone were among the other goods delivered. It is illegal to export these materials to China.

Follow CommunistChina.news for more stories about Chinese infiltration in the United States.

Watch the video below to learn more about the CCP collaborating with the Mexican cartel to do illicit drug smuggling.

This video is from the Chinese taking down EVIL CCP channel on Brighteon.com.