Nigeria Customs Hands Over Stolen Luxury Vehicles to Canada, Strengthens Anti-Smuggling Collaboration
The Nigeria Customs Service has formally handed over several intercepted luxury vehicles traced to Canada, in what authorities described as a major breakthrough in international anti-smuggling cooperation and cargo intelligence enforcement.
The handover ceremony was held on Monday, 4 May 2026, at the Tin Can Island Port, where the Deputy High Commissioner of Canada to Nigeria, Nasser Salihou, officially received the recovered vehicles from the Customs Area Controller of the Command, Comptroller Frank Onyeka.
The recovery followed months of intelligence sharing and operational collaboration between the Nigeria Customs Service and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police after Canadian authorities traced a number of stolen high-end vehicles allegedly smuggled into Nigeria through international shipping networks.
According to an internal Customs document dated 5 May 2026, the recovered 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.
Authorities confirmed that all the vehicles had been stolen in Canada and illegally exported before arriving in Nigeria.
Speaking shortly after the handover at the Tin Can Island Customs Area Command, Comptroller Onyeka revealed that one of the vehicles, a Toyota Tacoma, had been concealed inside a container transporting other vehicles and had not yet exited Customs control before intelligence from Canadian authorities prompted immediate intervention.
He explained that upon receiving the alert and shipping documentation through official channels, officers of the Command swiftly isolated the suspicious consignment, extracted the affected vehicle, and placed it under enforcement custody pending diplomatic verification.
According to Onyeka, what initially appeared to be a routine cargo transaction quickly developed into an international criminal investigation involving cross-border vehicle theft syndicates.
He noted that the Command immediately placed the consignment under strict enforcement watch after receiving intelligence from Canada and secured the vehicle while awaiting confirmation from Canadian authorities.
The Customs boss further disclosed that the Service intentionally delayed the final release process until officials of the Canadian government personally arrived to complete the identification and recovery procedures.
He stressed that the sensitivity of the matter required direct government-to-government engagement to ensure transparency and preserve the integrity of the recovery process.
Comptroller Onyeka said the successful interception and recovery operation demonstrated the determination of the Nigeria Customs Service to combat transnational organised crime, particularly international vehicle theft syndicates that exploit global shipping routes to move stolen automobiles across continents.
He added that the operation also highlighted the growing cooperation between Nigeria and Canada in intelligence sharing, cargo profiling, and maritime enforcement aimed at tackling organised cross-border crimes involving stolen assets, illicit trade, and other fraudulent activities.
