INTERPOL: Police Repatriate Chinese Fugitive Wanted Over 1,400-Tonne Rosewood Smuggling
By Pan Afric Reporters
The Nigeria Police Force has repatriated a Chinese national, Zhang Shijie, to Guangzhou, China, following his arrest in Ogun State over his alleged involvement in the large-scale smuggling of about 1,400 tonnes of endangered African Rosewood valued at approximately 15.7 million Chinese Yuan.
The development was contained in a statement issued by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, ANIPR, at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, on Thursday, September 17, 2026, detailing the operation carried out by the INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB), Abuja, in collaboration with Chinese law-enforcement authorities.
According to the statement, Zhang was wanted by the Yangpu Sub-Bureau of the Anti-Smuggling Bureau of Haikou Customs District, China, pursuant to an arrest warrant issued on January 7, 2021, over alleged offences involving the smuggling of Pterocarpus erinaceus, commonly known as African Rosewood, an endangered tree species indigenous to West Africa.
The alleged offences were committed between November 2020 and January 2021, after which the suspect reportedly remained outside China. Intelligence later established his presence in Nigeria, where he was residing in Ogun State using a Chinese passport that had expired on November 11, 2023.
Following sustained intelligence gathering, surveillance and coordinated investigations, operatives of INTERPOL NCB Abuja arrested Zhang on September 10, 2026, in the Ogere area of Ogun State.
The Police said the suspect was subsequently repatriated to Guangzhou on September 16, 2026, in furtherance of bilateral police cooperation between Nigeria and China.
The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, reiterated the Force’s commitment to strengthening international police cooperation and maximising INTERPOL tools and capabilities to track fugitives and combat transnational organised crime.
According to Disu, the Nigeria Police Force would continue to deploy international law-enforcement partnerships to prevent Nigeria from becoming a safe haven for persons wanted for criminal offences in other jurisdictions.
The IGP stressed the importance of sustained cross-border cooperation in disrupting criminal networks, while the Force reaffirmed its commitment to working with INTERPOL and other international law-enforcement partners to ensure that fugitives are brought within the reach of justice.
The repatriation marks another outcome of coordinated international police action involving intelligence sharing, surveillance and the use of INTERPOL mechanisms to locate and return persons wanted by law-enforcement authorities in other countries.
