Collage photo of Tai Junlong and Xie Qinglin.
By Abasifreke Effiong, Abuja
Police have found two Chinese arrested in Nasarawa State for vandalisation and theft of railway infrastructure in possession of expired entry visas into Nigeria.
The two suspects who are currently being held in police detention in Lafia, Nasarawa State, near Nigeria’s capital Abuja, were also found to have given the police fake names in a statement they wrote two months ago when they were arrested in Abuja.
Police sources said the suspects wrote their names as Messr. Mara Thai and Messr. Deng Wenhui, in the statement they gave to the police.
But police said they got to know that the suspects gave fake names and were using expired entry visas after a Federal High Court in Lafia, granted them bail.
“As condition to fulfill their bail condition, the Court ordered that they drop their Passport and Visa. That was how we discovered that they gave us fake name and were using expired visas.”
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From their Passport and Visa, police found that Mara Thai’s real name is Tai Junlong, and Deng Wenhui’s real name is Xie Qinglin.
Tai Junlong obtained a-one month entry visa into Nigeria on October 9, 2019. His entry visa number into Nigeria is E3807170, with passport number E40680528.
Xie Qinglin came into Nigeria on 15th October 2020 with a one month business Visa which expired on 14th November 2020. His Nigeria’s entry visa number is E1045552.
Tai and Xie were both working at a Chinese owned metal scrap company, Yong Xing Steel, located at Tungan Ma Je, Abuja.
Police from the Anti-Kidnapping unit, Nasarawa State command, who were investigating large-scale vandalisation of railway slippers along the Jos-Lafia-Makurdi rail line raided the company in May 2021 and arrested Tai and Xie.
The Commissioner of Police in Nasarawa State, AIG Bola Longe, said the legal adviser of the company who is now in police detention offered to bribe the Chief Superintendent of Police who led the operation with N600,000.
Tai and Xie and 29 other suspects including a special assistant to the Governor of Nasarawa State were arraigned in Court in June in connection with railway vandalisation.
Counsel to the Chinese, Barr. Innocent Lagi, had sought bail for Tai and Xie on health grounds.
The bail application was granted by the presiding judge, Justice Nehizena Afolabi.
However, the police discovered during the filing of documents for the bail that the suspects gave fake names in their statement to the police and were also using expired visas.
A police sources said the suspects gave fake names to jump bail and escape prosecution.
Documentation for their bail has been stalled by the new findings made by the police.
