The Federal High Court in Jos, Plateau State, has convicted and deported four Chinese nationals—Liang Quin Yong, Wang Huajie, Zhong Jiajing, and Long Kechong—for engaging in illegal mining activities in Nigeria. In addition to their deportation, the court ordered the forfeiture of over ₦134 million recovered from the convicts to the federal government.
According to a statement released by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday, the four were arrested on March 8, 2025, at the JLM Mining Company site in Jos, following intelligence reports linking them to illicit mining operations in the state.
Each defendant was prosecuted separately on a one-count charge for the unlawful purchase and possession of mineral resources, an offence under Section 1(8)(b) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, 1983.
At the time of arraignment, all four pleaded guilty. EFCC prosecutors M.O. Arumemi and F.A.I Asemebo urged the court to convict the defendants, citing strong evidence and clear breaches of Nigerian law.
Delivering the judgment, Justice Dorcas Agishi sentenced each of the convicts to five years’ imprisonment with an option of a ₦1 million fine. She further ordered their deportation and barred them from returning to Nigeria.
The court also mandated the forfeiture of proceeds from the illegal mining, including ₦134,874,769.01 traced to Liang Quin Yong. Additionally, all recovered mineral resources and a sum of ₦16.3 million—imposed as an administrative fine for failing to report financial transactions to the EFCC’s Special Control Unit against Money Laundering (SCUML)—were forfeited to the federal government.