Abuja: The Nigeria Customs Service has handed over a fleet of recovered luxury vehicles—stolen and traced back to Canada—to Canadian Deputy High Commissioner Nasser Salihou, marking a major breakthrough in international smuggling investigations.
A statement on the handover was made available to newsmen in Abuja on Sunday by the NCS spokesperson, Abdullahi Maiwada.
Maiwada said the vehicles were handed over at the Tin Can Island Port. Frank Onyeka, the Customs Area Controller of the Command, conducted the handover.
He said the move strengthens international confidence in Nigeria’s anti-smuggling and cargo intelligence systems.
According to him, the recovery followed months of intelligence sharing. Operational collaboration took place between the NCS and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The Spokesperson added that authorities in Canada traced several stolen high-end vehicles. These vehicles were believed to have been smuggled into Nigeria through international shipping channels.
“Internal Customs document dated May 5, showed that the intercepted vehicles included a 2019 Lexus RX350, 2019 Mercedes-Benz G550, 2023 Land Rover Range Rover, 2019 Lamborghini Huracán, and 2021 Rolls-Royce Dawn Convertible.
“Also intercepted were a 2018 Lamborghini Aventador and a 2026 Toyota Tundra. All vehicles were confirmed to have been stolen and illegally exported before ending up in Nigeria,” he said.
Speaking at the handover, Onyeka said one of the vehicles, a Toyota Tacoma, was initially concealed inside a container carrying other vehicles and had not yet exited Customs control when intelligence from Canadian authorities triggered immediate intervention.
He said once the alert was received and shipping documentation was transmitted through official channels, officers of the command moved swiftly. They isolated the suspicious consignment.
He said the officers extracted the affected vehicle and placed it under enforcement custody, meaning the Customs Service took legal control of the vehicle until diplomatic verification could be completed.
“What appeared to be routine cargo became an international criminal investigation.
“Once intelligence reached us, we placed the consignment—which means a batch of goods shipped together—under enforcement watch and secured the vehicle pending confirmation from Canadian authorities,” he said.
He explained that the service deliberately delayed the final release until Canadian government 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 said.
The operation, he said, reinforces the NCS’s commitment to tackling transnational vehicle theft syndicates that exploit global shipping routes to move stolen automobiles across continents.
According to him, the recovery has shown the ongoing cooperation between Nigeria and Canada. This cooperation includes intelligence sharing, cargo profiling, and maritime enforcement.
He said this was particularly so in tackling organised cross-border crimes. Such crimes involve stolen assets, illicit trade, and other fraudulent activities.