The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has formally handed over several intercepted luxury vehicles stolen from Canada and smuggled into Nigeria, in what officials described as a major breakthrough in international anti-smuggling cooperation.
The NCS spokesperson, Abdullahi Maiwada, confirmed the development in a statement on Sunday, May 10, 2026, noting that the operation underscores ongoing efforts to strengthen global confidence in Nigeria’s cargo monitoring and anti-smuggling systems.
According to the statement, the official handover ceremony took place on Monday, May 4, 2026, at the Tin Can Island Port in Lagos, where the Deputy High Commissioner of Canada to Nigeria, Nasser Salihou, received the recovered vehicles from the Customs Area Controller of the Command, Comptroller Frank Onyeka.
The recovery followed months of intelligence sharing between the Nigeria Customs Service and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, after Canadian authorities traced a series of stolen high-end vehicles suspected to have been shipped illegally into Nigeria through international cargo routes.
Internal Customs documents showed that the recovered vehicles include a 2019 Lexus RX350, 2019 Mercedes-Benz G550, 2023 Range Rover, 2019 Lamborghini Huracán, 2021 Rolls-Royce Dawn Convertible, 2018 Lamborghini Aventador, and a 2026 Toyota Tundra, all confirmed stolen in Canada before being trafficked overseas.
Speaking at the Tin Can Island Customs Command, Comptroller Frank Onyeka revealed that one of the vehicles, a Toyota Tacoma, was discovered concealed inside a container alongside other vehicles and was intercepted before leaving Customs control after intelligence alerts from Canadian authorities.
According to him, officers immediately moved to secure the shipment after receiving verified intelligence and placed the suspicious consignment under enforcement custody pending diplomatic confirmation.
“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 said.
He explained that the Service deliberately held back the final release of the vehicles until representatives of the Canadian government arrived to personally verify and complete the recovery process.
“We insisted the handover must be directly to the Canadian government to preserve the integrity of the process,” he added.
Onyeka further said the operation demonstrates the Nigeria Customs Service’s growing capacity to combat transnational vehicle theft networks that exploit global shipping channels.
He also highlighted strengthened cooperation between Nigeria and Canada in intelligence sharing, cargo profiling, and maritime enforcement aimed at tackling cross-border crimes involving stolen assets and illicit trade.
