The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has handed over a batch of intercepted stolen luxury vehicles traced to Canada, as part of efforts to strengthen international confidence in Nigeria’s anti-smuggling and cargo intelligence system.
The handover took place on Monday, May 4, 2026, at Tin Can Island Port, where Canada’s Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Nasser Salihou, formally received the vehicles from the Customs Area Controller of the Command, Comptroller Frank Onyeka.
The recovery followed months of intelligence sharing and operational collaboration between the NCS and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police after Canadian authorities traced several stolen high-end vehicles believed to have been smuggled into Nigeria through international shipping channels.
An internal Customs document dated May 5, 2026, listed the intercepted vehicles as 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 were confirmed stolen and illegally exported before ending up in Nigeria.
Speaking after the handover at the Tin Can Island Customs Area Command, Comptroller Onyeka said one of the vehicles, a Toyota Tacoma, was concealed inside a container carrying other vehicles and had not yet exited Customs control when Canadian authorities issued an alert that triggered immediate action.
“Once the alert and shipping documentation were transmitted through official channels, our officers moved swiftly to isolate the suspicious consignment, extract the affected vehicle, and place it under enforcement custody pending diplomatic verification,” he said.
Onyeka added that Customs deliberately delayed the final release until Canadian officials arrived in person to complete identification and recovery procedures.
“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 noted that some individuals had attempted to intervene on behalf of others, but Customs insisted on a direct handover to the Canadian government to preserve the integrity of the process.
The comptroller said the operation demonstrates the NCS’s capacity to combat transnational vehicle theft syndicates that exploit global shipping routes to move stolen automobiles across continents. He added that the recovery underscores ongoing cooperation between Nigeria and Canada in intelligence sharing, cargo profiling, and maritime enforcement, particularly in tackling organized cross-border crimes involving stolen assets, illicit trade, and other fraudulent activities.
