The courier said the materials came from Chinese military scientist Yusen Zhou and were destined for an NIH-funded University of Minnesota laboratory. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers discovered three undeclared vials hidden inside paper towels and wax film during an inspection of an arriving passenger at Detroit Metropolitan Airport on November 28, 2018. Paul said the records document undeclared coronavirus materials moving between Chinese and American laboratories as early as 2018—well before the world knew of COVID-19. The disclosure does not establish that the intercepted animal coronavirus materials were connected to the creation or outbreak of SARS-CoV-2. It does, however, expose serious failures in biological-material controls while revealing the depth of cooperation between federally funded American laboratories and scientists linked to China’s military coronavirus programs.