Police arrest, repatriate wanted Chinese national over smuggling

The Nigeria Police Force has repatriated a Chinese national, Zhang Shijie, to China following his arrest in Nigeria over alleged large-scale smuggling of endangered African rosewood. Zhang was wanted by the Yangpu Sub-Bureau of the Anti-Smuggling Bureau of Haikou Customs District in China over allegations of involvement in the smuggling of about 1,400 tonnes of Pterocarpus erinaceus, commonly known as African rosewood.

The consignment was valued at approximately 15.7 million Chinese yuan, and the alleged offences were committed between November 2020 and January 2021. Zhang was arrested in Ogun State, Nigeria, on September 10, 2026, and repatriated to Guangzhou, China, on September 16, 2026. The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, reaffirmed the commitment of the Nigeria Police Force to strengthening international police cooperation and combating transnational organised crime.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch Nigeria's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.