An Iowa court judge on Tuesday dismissed the charges against Mo Yun, a Chinese woman alleged to be involved in a conspiracy to steal genetically modified corn seeds in Iowa. 

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US District Judge Stephanie Rose signed the order that directs the government to stop "all court-directed electronic monitoring" and give back Yun's passport so she can go home to China. She is the wife of Shao Genhou, chairman of Dabei Nong Technology (DBN) Group Company Ltd. in China.

Prosecutors investigating their case dropped the charges after the judge refused to consider computer messages as evidence for putting Yun behind bars for 10 years.

"Messages exchanged between 2007 and 2008 cannot be used as evidence for many reasons. Firstly, they are not recent and secondly, they are inconsistent, especially after being removed and pasted from another file," said Judge Rose.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation started its investigation after the matter was reported in May 2011 by the manager of DuPoint research farm in east-central Iowa. 

Mo Hailong, Yun's brother who moved to the US 15 years ago, is the only implicated employee of the company to face the trial on September 14. The manager exposed Mo and his colleague, Wang Lei, who were digging the field to steal corn seeds. Four others were arrested in 2013.

Reports indicate that Mo and his co-conspirers visited several fields in Iowa and Illinois where seeds are tested and used by agricultural giants Pioneer, Monsanto, and LG Seeds. Mo and the others bought a test plot in Illinois and the stolen seeds were hidden in microwave popcorn boxes and napkins.

"The crime took place after Yun had left the company, and there are no strong evidence against her to prove that she helped her brother and others accused in stealing the seeds and shipping them out of the country between 2011 and 2012. She plans to leave the country this week," said Terry Bird, Yun's attorney.

The seeds in question came from self-pollinating corn plants and are commonly known as inbred. It takes five to eight years to develop one line of inbred seeds, which can cost anything between $30 million to $40 million. Stolen inbred seeds can be replanted and the new seeds can be used to cross with a separate inbred to produce a hybrid. Thus, stealing saves time and money invested in research and testing.

"Due to expensive seed technology and time consuming development, some people think that it is better to steal and save five years of research on the back of somebody else's time and effort that was put in," said Andrew LaVigne, the president and chief executive of the American Seed Trade Association.

TagsGenetically Modified Corn Seeds, Iowa Seed Stealing, Mo Hailong, Dabei Nong Technology (DBN) Group, Monsanto, Hybrid Seeds