FBI Director Kash Patel says a trip to Italy that raised questions earlier in 2026 helped set the stage for the arrest of a Chinese national accused of hacking U.S. COVID-19 research. 

Xu Zewei is now in U.S. custody after what Patel described as a coordinated operation with Italian authorities, marking a rare case in which an alleged state-linked hacker has been extradited to face charges in the United States.

Xu was extradited from Italy in recent days and faces federal charges tied to a 2020–2021 cyber campaign that prosecutors say targeted sensitive research, including work related to COVID-19 treatments and vaccines.

Patel told Fox News Digital in an interview the bureau was able to «directly tie» Xu to China’s Ministry of State Security and its Shanghai bureau, though additional details remain classified pending declassification.

FBI DIRECTOR KASH PATEL SAYS BUREAU RAMPING UP AI TO COUNTER DOMESTIC, GLOBAL THREATS

Patel said the arrest was the result of a carefully coordinated effort with Italian authorities led by Prefect Vittorio Pisani of the Italian National Police, carried out within a narrow window before additional legal challenges could delay the suspect’s extradition.

Officials from both countries worked to ensure Xu would be in Italy, and «we created an opportunity with our partners in Italy to have him apprehended there,» Patel said.

Patel told Fox News Digital the trip, which the FBI said included meetings with Italian law enforcement and Olympic security coordination, also helped lay the groundwork for the arrest. He faced criticism at the time after being seen attending Olympic events, with questions raised about whether the travel was primarily official.

Patel described the suspect as «one of the top two cyber criminals in the world for China,» alleging he played a key role in hacking efforts aimed at American universities, immunologists and virologists during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

«We were able to bring him to Houston for prosecution, which is most of what I was doing when people said I was on vacation in Italy,» Patel said.  

Xu allegedly reported to Chinese intelligence officials after compromising a U.S.-based research university in early 2020, according to the indictment, and allegedly was directed to access email accounts belonging to virologists and immunologists studying COVID-19. 

Patel told Fox News Digital in an interview the bureau was able to «directly tie» Xu to China’s Ministry of State Security and its Shanghai bureau, though additional details remain classified pending declassification. (FBI)

Patel said Chinese officials sought to intervene in recent days to prevent Xu’s extradition from Italy.

Timing was critical, according to Patel, who pointed to past cases where suspected Chinese operatives were able to avoid extradition. 

In one instance in 2025, he said, a Chinese national detained in Serbia was ultimately returned to China despite U.S. efforts to secure custody.

Authorities allege Xu and his co-conspirators targeted U.S.-based universities, immunologists and virologists working on COVID-19 during the height of the pandemic, gaining access to email accounts and sensitive research.

But the Justice Department has not publicly detailed the specific data allegedly exfiltrated, including whether it included proprietary vaccine formulas, clinical trial data or internal communications between researchers.

Patel said the operation was «specifically engineered at a time when our adversaries were looking to hurt us during COVID,» adding that the suspect targeted research tied to treatments and vaccines.

FBI Director Kash Patel looks on before the men’s gold medal ice hockey match between Canada and the United States at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, on Feb. 22, 2026. (Elsa/Getty Images)

Prosecutors also allege Xu was involved in exploiting vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server, a widely used email system, as part of the broader «HAFNIUM» hacking campaign that compromised thousands of computers worldwide, including more than 12,000 organizations in the United States.

The indictment also describes how Chinese intelligence services allegedly rely on private contractors to carry out cyber operations, allowing the government to obscure its direct involvement.

Among the alleged victims was a law firm with offices in Washington, D.C., where prosecutors say attackers searched email accounts for information related to U.S. policymakers and government agencies.

Xu’s alleged co-conspirator, who was also charged in the case, remains at large.

Patel declined to discuss specifics about the broader network but said China’s Ministry of State Security continues to actively target the United States through cyber operations.

«The MSS is always a target of this FBI’s. They’re always operating whether it’s to steal our classified information, our nation’s research and scientific information, or anything they can use to embarrass us or leverage against us,» Patel said. «They’re going to keep doing it.»

CHINESE SCHOLARS CHARGED WITH SMUGGLING BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS INTO US UNDER RESEARCH COVER

Patel said the FBI has made countering Chinese espionage a top priority, pointing to a sharp increase in arrests tied to Beijing-linked activity.

«We’ve arrested more Chinese spies than any FBI before me,» he said. 

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Patel signaled that efforts to identify and prosecute individuals tied to similar operations are ongoing.

«It’s a priority threat and it’s going to continue to be that way,» he said.

The Chinese embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

A German tourist has died after a venomous cobra featured in a snake show reportedly slithered up his pants and bit him on the leg, authorities said.

The freak accident occurred early April at a luxury resort destination in Egypt, according to the Bavarian State Police in Germany, which released details Monday.

«During the snake charmer’s performance, one of the snakes crawled into the trousers of a 57-year-old man, resulting in a bite to the German tourist’s leg,» officials said. 

Police said the victim, whose identity was not released, was on vacation with two family members from the Unterallgäu region of Germany.

BILLIONAIRE’S DEATH AFTER SWALLOWING BEE RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT RARE CARDIAC REACTION

Authorities said the snake charmer event was part of a hotel entertainment program in the resort city of Hurghada, a popular Red Sea destination known for its upscale all-inclusive packages, as well as nearby desert and water excursions.

Two snakes, believed to be cobras, were used in the show, officials said. 

Investigators indicated that it is not uncommon for performers to allow snakes to interact closely with audience members, as some of the snakes were reportedly placed around guests’ necks during the act.

However, during one segment of the performance, a snake reportedly bit the German tourist after crawling into his clothing.

«He subsequently exhibited clear symptoms of poisoning and required resuscitation,» officials said. 

He reportedly died shortly after arriving at a local hospital.

LAW STUDENT KILLED BY ELEPHANT DURING VACATION TO THAILAND: OFFICIALS

Tourists swim in the Sunny Days Elpalacio beach in the Egyptian Red Sea resort city of Hurghada. (MOHAMED EL-SHAHED / AFP)

The results of a toxicological examination are still pending, Bavarian police said.

The investigation is being handled by Germany’s Memmingen Criminal Police Inspectorate under the direction of the Memmingen Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPPO).

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Tourists swimming at the Red Sea Egyptian resort of Hurghada on June 18, 2020 (KHALED DESOUKI/AFP)

Cobras are known for being highly venomous snakes. Their bite can lead to rapid respiratory failure and paralysis without prompt medical treatment.

Fox News Digital has reached out to MPPO for more information.   

FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security called out the legacy media for characterizing the perpetrator of a recent Wisconsin machete attack as a «Green Bay man» when he is actually an illegal alien from Nicaragua.

Fox News Digital has learned that David Joel Herrera-Garcia, 24, who is charged with two counts of attempted murder, aggravated assault and armed burglary, is an illegal immigrant who was marked as a «non-enforcement priority» by the Biden administration, according to DHS.

Herrera-Garcia’s charges stem from an alleged break-in and machete attack at the home of his ex-girlfriend. Citing local reports, DHS said the Green Bay police responding to an emergency call discovered bloodied female and male victims in the early morning of April 20. The agency said that police on the scene found blood «all over the concrete» leading up to the house. The woman, Herrera-Garcia’s 23-year-old ex-girlfriend, identified him as the attacker, and he was arrested later that morning.

DHS has lodged an immigration detainer for Herrera-Garcia for the Brown County Jail to turn him over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for possible deportation. The agency commented that «despite the legacy media calling Herrera-Garcia a ‘Green Bay man,’ he is in fact an illegal alien from Nicaragua.»

SANCTUARY POLICIES LET ALLEGED CHILD PREDATOR ROAM FREE UNTIL DHS MADE PORTLAND, OREGON, AIRPORT ARREST’

«Yet again, legacy media has gone to bat for a vicious criminal illegal alien allowed by the Biden administration to roam our streets and prey upon innocent people,» remarked Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis in a statement shared with Fox News Digital.

The agency said that Herrera-Garcia allegedly used a key to enter his ex-girlfriend’s home before proceeding to beat her and repeatedly stab her and a man with a machete.

Officers responding to the emergency call applied tourniquets to the victims, who were transported to a hospital. The female victim suffered a head injury and lacerations on her hand and neck. The male victim, whose age was not given, sustained wounds on his shoulder, forearm and shin.

According to DHS, Herrera-Garcia entered the country illegally in Texas as a minor with his father in 2019. He was given a final order of removal in 2022 after he failed to appear at his immigration hearings. However, the agency said that in the final days of the Biden administration, ICE used its prosecutorial discretion to label Herrera-Garcia as a «non-enforcement priority.» The agency said that ICE under former President Joe Biden chose not to take him into custody following an arrest by local law enforcement on charges of driving without a license.

ILLEGAL MIGRANT ACCUSED OF NY DUMPSTER RAPE CAPTURED ON TEXAS BUS AS HE FLED TOWARD SOUTHERN BORDER: DA

Former President Joe Biden delivers remarks during the Edward Kennedy Institute’s 10th anniversary celebration in Boston, Massachusetts, on Oct. 26, 2025. (Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

«The Biden administration marked this criminal illegal alien as a non-enforcement priority,» said Bis.

«This is not a ‘Green Bay man.’ This is a criminal illegal alien from Nicaragua who barbarically attacked two people with a machete,» she added. «Under President Trump’s leadership, ICE lodged an arrest detainer with our local authorities to ensure this monster is never released back into our communities.»

This comes amid heightened scrutiny on jurisdictions across the country with sanctuary policies limiting cooperation with ICE.

BLUE STATE RESIDENTS ‘FLEEING IN DROVES’ AFTER ‘INSANE’ PROGRESSIVE TAKEOVER, SAYS TOP STATE ATTORNEY

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Bis has previously slammed sanctuary politicians, saying that «at every step on the way to make America safe again,» they «have tried to slow ICE down and chosen to release criminals from their jails into our communities to perpetrate more crimes and create more victims.»

Fox News Digital reached out to the Brown County Sheriff’s Office and to spokespeople for Biden for comment.