The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has sent a Chinese fugitive, Zhang Shijie, back to China, nearly six years after a warrant was issued for his arrest over the alleged smuggling of endangered African Rosewood.
According to a statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, operatives of the INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB) in Abuja arrested Zhang on 10 September 2026 in the Ogere area of Ogun State. He was repatriated to Guangzhou on 16 September 2026 under bilateral police cooperation between Nigeria and China.
Zhang was wanted by the Yangpu Sub-Bureau of the Anti-Smuggling Bureau of the Haikou Customs District in China. A warrant for his arrest was issued on 7 January 2021, over his alleged role in smuggling about 1,400 tonnes of Pterocarpus erinaceus, commonly known as African Rosewood, an endangered tree species native to West Africa. The consignment was valued at about 15.7 million Chinese Yuan.
The alleged offences took place between November 2020 and January 2021, after which Zhang did not return to China. Police said intelligence later placed him in Nigeria, where he was living in Ogun State on a Chinese passport that expired on 11 November 2023.
Following what the police described as sustained intelligence gathering, surveillance and coordinated investigation, INTERPOL NCB Abuja operatives tracked him down and made the arrest.
The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, reiterated the Force’s commitment to strengthening international police cooperation and making full use of INTERPOL’s tools in tracking fugitives and combating transnational organised crime. He stressed that Nigeria must not become a haven for people wanted for crimes in other countries.
The Force added that it will continue working with INTERPOL and other international law-enforcement partners to strengthen cross-border security, disrupt transnational criminal networks, and ensure that fugitives face justice.
