The Nigeria Customs Service has handed over several stolen luxury vehicles traced to Canada after intercepting them at the Tin Can Island Port in Lagos, in what officials described as a major step in combating transnational vehicle theft and smuggling.
The vehicles were received by Canada’s Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Nasser Salihou, during a handover ceremony at the port. They were presented by the Customs Area Controller of the Tin Can Island Command, Comptroller Frank Onyeka.
According to a statement issued by the National Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Customs Service, Abdullahi Maiwada, the recovery followed months of intelligence sharing and operational collaboration between the NCS and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Canadian authorities had traced several stolen high-end vehicles believed to have been illegally exported through international shipping networks before arriving in Nigeria.
Customs documents dated May 5, 2026, listed the recovered 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 2026 Toyota Tundra. The Service said the vehicles had been confirmed stolen in Canada before being smuggled into Nigeria.
Speaking during the handover, Onyeka said one of the vehicles, a Toyota Tacoma, had been concealed inside a container carrying other automobiles and had not yet left Customs control when intelligence from Canada prompted immediate intervention.
“What looked like a routine cargo movement quickly became an international criminal investigation,” Onyeka said.
He explained that officers isolated the consignment, extracted the vehicle and placed it under enforcement custody pending diplomatic verification. Onyeka said Customs delayed the release of the vehicles until Canadian officials arrived to complete identification and recovery procedures, stressing that the sensitivity of the case required direct handover to the Canadian government.
The Customs chief said the operation showed the Service’s determination to disrupt criminal syndicates exploiting international cargo routes to move stolen assets. He added that the recovery reflected growing cooperation between Nigeria and Canada in cargo profiling, intelligence exchange and maritime enforcement.
The latest handover follows earlier cooperation between both countries. In 2025, Canada commended the Nigeria Customs Service for helping recover 65 stolen vehicles traced to Canada and intercepted in Nigeria.
Officials say the latest recovery reinforces the need for tighter scrutiny of imported vehicles, stronger port intelligence and continued international collaboration against organised vehicle theft networks.
