Nigeria Police Repatriates Wanted Chinese Wildlife Trafficker

​ABUJA — In a major win for international environmental law enforcement, the Nigeria Police Force has successfully tracked down and repatriated a 42-year-old Chinese national, Cai Jinlian, to Shanghai, China, to face trial for large-scale wildlife trafficking.

​Jinlian, who had been a target of international law enforcement for years, was apprehended by operatives of the INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB), Abuja, on July 18, 2026, following actionable intelligence. His repatriation was executed on July 29 under robust bilateral police cooperation agreements.

​A Trail of Illicit Trade

​According to investigations initiated by the Anti-Smuggling Sub Bureau of Wenzhou Customs, Jinlian was the mastermind behind the illegal export of approximately 12 tonnes of endangered tree pangolin scales smuggled from Nigeria into China across two massive consignments between November 2018 and April 2019.

​While two of his accomplices were previously prosecuted and handed prison sentences exceeding 14 years by the Wenzhou Intermediate People’s Court of Zhejiang Province in December 2020, Jinlian managed to evade initial capture. He fled China for Egypt on July 12, 2019. Following an official arrest warrant issued in March 2020, INTERPOL published a Red Notice against him in May 2020.

​Intelligence tracking later revealed that the fugitive slipped into Nigeria around 2023, keeping a low profile as he shuttled covertly between Delta and Plateau States before police operatives closed in on him in Abuja.

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​Zero Tolerance for Transnational Environmental Crime

​Commending the operative brilliance of the INTERPOL NCB Abuja team, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olutunji Rilwan Disu, reiterated the force’s unwavering resolve to hunt down transnational criminals using Nigeria as a transit or safe haven.

​The IGP has specifically directed the police’s Environmental Crimes and Works of Art Team to scale up intelligence-led operations, stressing that Nigeria will not be used as a playground for syndicates threatening global biodiversity and endangered species.