By Victoria Attah
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted and handed over a series of stolen luxury vehicles traced to Canada, in what authorities describe as a significant breakthrough in international cargo intelligence and anti-smuggling operations.
The handover took place on Monday at the Tin Can Island Port in Lagos, where the Deputy High Commissioner of Canada to Nigeria, Nasser Salihou, received the recovered vehicles from the Customs Area Controller of the Tin Can Island Command, Frank Onyeka.
The operation followed months of coordinated intelligence exchange between the Nigeria Customs Service and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, after Canadian authorities traced multiple stolen high-end vehicles believed to have been smuggled out of the country through international shipping channels into Nigeria.
Internal Customs documents revealed that the intercepted vehicles include a 2019 Lexus RX350, 2019 Mercedes-Benz G550, 2023 Range Rover, 2019 Lamborghini Huracán, 2021 Rolls-Royce Dawn Convertible, 2018 Lamborghini Aventador, and a 2026 Toyota Tundra, all confirmed stolen before being exported from Canada.
Speaking during the handover ceremony, Comptroller Onyeka said one of the vehicles, a Toyota Tacoma, was discovered concealed inside a container carrying other automobiles and intercepted before it exited Customs control.
“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,” he said.
He explained that officers acted immediately after receiving official intelligence alerts and shipping documentation, isolating the container and placing the suspect vehicle under custody for verification.
Onyeka added that the Service deliberately insisted on a direct handover to Canadian authorities to preserve the integrity and transparency of the recovery process.
“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,” he stated.
He noted that the operation reflects the growing capacity of the Nigeria Customs Service in disrupting transnational vehicle theft syndicates that exploit global shipping routes to move stolen assets across continents.
The Customs boss further stressed that the success of the operation highlights strengthened collaboration between Nigeria and Canada in intelligence sharing, cargo profiling, and maritime enforcement targeting organised cross-border crime.
Security sources familiar with international vehicle trafficking patterns note that stolen luxury automobiles of this nature often circulate discreetly within secondary markets after initial interception risks are bypassed, with major urban centres such as Lagos and Abuja frequently forming part of wider domestic redistribution networks.
