The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has recorded a major breakthrough against transnational auto theft syndicates with the recovery and handover of several stolen luxury vehicles traced to Canada.
The operation, which followed months of intelligence sharing between Nigerian and Canadian authorities, culminated in the formal transfer of the intercepted vehicles to Canadian officials at the Tin Can Island Port in Lagos on Monday, 4 May 2026.
At the handover ceremony, the Deputy High Commissioner of Canada to Nigeria, Nasser Salihou, officially received the recovered vehicles from the Customs Area Controller of the Tin Can Island Command, Frank Onyeka.
The recovery was achieved through coordinated intelligence and operational collaboration between the Nigeria Customs Service and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police after Canadian authorities traced a number of stolen exotic vehicles believed to have been smuggled into Nigeria through international shipping channels.
Internal Customs documents dated 5 May 2026 showed that the intercepted vehicles included a 2019 Lexus RX350, 2019 Mercedes-Benz G550, 2023 Land Rover Range Rover, 2019 Lamborghini Huracán, 2021 Rolls-Royce Dawn Convertible, 2018 Lamborghini Aventador, and a 2026 Toyota Tundra, all confirmed to have been stolen and illegally exported before ending up in Nigeria.
Speaking after the handover ceremony at the Tin Can Island Customs Area Command, Comptroller Onyeka disclosed that one of the vehicles, a Toyota Tacoma, had been concealed inside a container transporting other automobiles and was intercepted before leaving Customs custody.
According to him, intelligence received from Canadian authorities triggered immediate intervention by Customs operatives, who isolated the suspicious consignment and secured the affected vehicle pending diplomatic verification.
“What looked like a routine cargo movement quickly became an international criminal investigation. Once intelligence reached us, we placed the consignment under enforcement watch and secured the vehicle pending confirmation from Canadian authorities,” Onyeka stated.
He explained that the Service deliberately resisted attempts by third parties to intervene in the process, insisting that the recovered vehicles must only be released directly to representatives of the Canadian government.
“We had people who wanted to step in on behalf of others, but this was too sensitive. We insisted the handover must be directly to the Canadian government to preserve the integrity of the process,” he added.
The Customs Area Controller described the operation as a strong signal of the Nigeria Customs Service’s growing capacity to combat international vehicle theft syndicates exploiting global shipping routes to move stolen automobiles across continents.
He further noted that the successful recovery underscored the strengthening cooperation between Nigeria and Canada in intelligence sharing, cargo profiling, and maritime enforcement aimed at tackling organised cross-border crimes, illicit trade, and other fraudulent activities linked to international shipping networks.
