When going away for a long time, it’s good to pack some essentials. Toothbrush, socks, extra pair of shoes, a biological pathogen that “can cause devastating diseases in crops” — you know, the sort of stuff we all bring on our beach holidays.

However, as we all know, this isn’t a free country anymore, which means you can’t just go around swinging biological pathogens all willy-nilly. A Chinese couple is learning that firsthand after, according to NBC News, getting caught trying to smuggle “fungus known as Fusarium graminearum” into the country.

Apparently, the couple had been researching the pathogen for some time, and while they initially denied that they had intentionally brought it into the country, subsequent admissions (and a search through their chat history) revealed that they had actually developed a pretty involved plant to get the stuff into the country, hiding it in tissues and boots in order to conceal it.

“Fusarium graminearum is responsible for billions of dollars in economic losses worldwide each year,” the government’s complaint says, per NBC News. “The toxins produced by Fusarium graminearum cause vomiting, liver damage and reproductive defects in livestock and humans.”

Sounds bad, but a couple Zyns and a vodka Red Bull can do that to you, too, so how bad can it really be?

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denied any knowledge of the smuggling plot, and as it stands right now, the couple are being charged with “multiple counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, smuggling goods into the country and making false statements to investigators.”