WASHINGTON — The FBI instructed US Customs and Border Protection to “not stop” the president of Manhattan nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance — which was later accused of creating the “blueprint” for COVID-19 — upon his return to the US from China in February 2021, according to explosive emails released Monday.

The messages, which were published by Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul (R-Ky.), show that CBP saw Dr. Peter Daszak as “an extremely high person of interest” due to his 15 years of collaborative research with the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

“Daszak was responsible for funding WIV with NIH [National Institutes of Health] grant money for research,” a Jan. 11, 2021, email from an unidentified CBP agricultural specialist stated.

“Much of the funding DASZAK receives is put towards gain of function research,” added a Feb. 2, 2021, email from a CBP National Targeting Security Specialist.

Daszak was scheduled to arrive at JFK Airport from Doha, Qatar, on Feb. 5, and CBP planned to sit him down for questions about his trip to China, where he took part in the World Health Organization’s investigation into the pandemic origins

But a CBP Joint Terrorism Task Force Liaison noted in a Feb. 2 email: “Please be advised FBI New York requested we do not stop the subject.”