By Tunde Ojudun
In a major boost to international confidence in Nigeria’s anti-smuggling and cargo intelligence system, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has formally handed over a fleet of stolen luxury vehicles traced to Canada.
The handover ceremony took place on Monday, 4 May 2026, at Tin Can Island Port, where Canada’s Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Nasser Salihou, received the vehicles from Comptroller Frank Onyeka, Customs Area Controller of the Command.
The recovery followed months of intelligence sharing and operational collaboration between the NCS and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, after Canadian authorities tracked several stolen high-end vehicles believed to have been smuggled into Nigeria through international shipping channels.
An internal Customs document dated 5 May 2026 listed the intercepted vehicles as 2019 Lexus RX350, 2019 Mercedes-Benz G550, 2023 Land Rover Range Rover, 2019 Lamborghini Huracán, 2021 Rolls-Royce Dawn Convertible, 2018 Lamborghini Aventador, and 2026 Toyota Tundra.
One additional vehicle, a Toyota Tacoma, was discovered concealed inside a container with other cars. It was intercepted before leaving Customs control, following an intelligence alert from Canadian authorities.
Comptroller Onyeka explained that once the alert was received, officers swiftly isolated the suspicious consignment, extracted the vehicle, and placed it under enforcement custody 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 emphasized that the Service deliberately delayed the release until Canadian officials arrived in person to complete identification and recovery procedures.
“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.
Onyeka reiterated that the operation demonstrates the NCS’s determination to dismantle transnational vehicle theft syndicates exploiting global shipping routes. He highlighted that the recovery reflects 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 fraud.