The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted several luxury vehicles stolen in Canada and smuggled into Nigeria through the Tin Can Island Port in Lagos, exposing what officials described as an international vehicle trafficking network.
The recovered automobiles, which included exotic brands such as Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, Mercedes-Benz and Range Rover, were formally handed over to Canadian authorities after months of intelligence sharing between the NCS and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
Speaking during the handover ceremony at Tin Can Island Port, the Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Frank Onyeka, said the operation marked a major breakthrough in the fight against transnational organised crime and stolen vehicle smuggling.
According to Onyeka, one of the vehicles, a Toyota Tacoma, was secretly hidden inside a container carrying other automobiles before Customs operatives intercepted the consignment.
“What looked like a routine cargo movement quickly became an international criminal investigation,” he said.
He explained that the suspicious shipment was immediately placed under enforcement watch after intelligence reports from Canadian authorities linked the vehicles to international theft syndicates.
Internal Customs documents showed that the intercepted vehicles included a 2021 Rolls-Royce Dawn Convertible, 2019 Lamborghini Huracán, 2018 Lamborghini Aventador, 2019 Mercedes-Benz G550, 2023 Range Rover, 2019 Lexus RX350 and a 2026 Toyota Tundra.
The NCS confirmed that all the vehicles had been stolen abroad before being illegally exported to Nigeria through international shipping channels.
Customs officials said the vehicles were not released despite alleged pressure from interested parties, insisting that the handover must be done directly to representatives of the Canadian government to protect the integrity of the operation.
The service noted that the successful interception highlights growing cooperation between Nigeria and Canada in intelligence sharing, cargo profiling and maritime enforcement.
The development also underscores increasing concerns over the activities of international syndicates using global shipping networks to move stolen luxury vehicles into emerging markets, including Nigeria.
