By Anthony Otaru, Abuja
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has uncovered what officials described as a major international vehicle smuggling operation after intercepting several stolen luxury automobiles traced to Canada at the Tin Can Island Port in Lagos.
The development culminated in the formal handover of the recovered vehicles to Canadian authorities, reinforcing growing international confidence in Nigeria’s anti-smuggling and cargo intelligence system.
The Deputy High Commissioner of Canada to Nigeria, Nasser Salihou, received the vehicles from the Customs Area Controller of the Tin Can Island Command, Frank Onyeka, during an official ceremony at the port.
The recovery followed months of intelligence sharing between the Nigeria Customs Service and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police after Canadian authorities tracked multiple stolen high-end vehicles allegedly smuggled into Nigeria through international shipping channels.
*Customs recovers Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, Range Rover consignments
Internal Customs documents dated May 5, 2026, identified the intercepted vehicles as a 2019 Lexus RX350, a 2019 Mercedes-Benz G550, a 2023 Land Rover Range Rover, a 2019 Lamborghini Huracán, a 2021 Rolls-Royce Dawn Convertible, a 2018 Lamborghini Aventador, and a 2026 Toyota Tundra.
Authorities confirmed that all the vehicles were stolen in Canada before being illegally exported to Nigeria.
Speaking shortly after the handover, Comptroller Onyeka revealed that one of the vehicles, a Toyota Tacoma, had been hidden inside a container carrying other automobiles and was intercepted before it exited Customs control.
“What appeared to be an ordinary cargo movement quickly developed into an international criminal investigation,” Onyeka said.
“Once intelligence reached us from Canadian authorities, we immediately placed the consignment under enforcement watch and secured the vehicle pending confirmation.”
He disclosed that officers acted swiftly after receiving shipping manifests and intelligence reports through official diplomatic and enforcement channels.
According to him, the Service rejected attempts by certain individuals to intervene in the recovery process, insisting that the vehicles could only be released directly to the Canadian government.
“We had people who wanted to intervene on behalf of others, but this operation was too sensitive,” Onyeka stated.
“We insisted that the handover must be directly to the Canadian government to preserve the integrity of the process.”
The Customs boss described the operation as a strong indication of the growing sophistication of transnational vehicle theft syndicates exploiting maritime routes to move stolen luxury automobiles across continents.
He added that the successful interception highlighted Nigeria’s improving cargo profiling, port surveillance and international enforcement collaboration in combating organised cross-border crimes involving stolen assets and illicit trade.
The operation further highlighted the growing security cooperation between Nigeria and Canada in intelligence sharing and maritime enforcement to dismantle international criminal networks.
