₦airaland Forum

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted and handed over several stolen luxury vehicles smuggled into Nigeria from Canada, in a move aimed at strengthening international cooperation against transnational crime.

The vehicles were handed over at Tin Can Island Port to Canada’s Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Nasser Salihou, by the Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Frank Onyeka.

The recovery followed months of intelligence sharing and coordinated operations between the NCS and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), after investigations by Canadian authorities revealed that stolen exotic vehicles had been shipped to Nigeria through international cargo routes.

Documents dated May 5, 2026, showed that the intercepted vehicles include 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 a 2026 Toyota Tundra, all confirmed to have been stolen and illegally exported before arriving in the country.


Speaking at the handover, Comptroller Onyeka disclosed that one of the vehicles, a Toyota Tacoma, was concealed inside a container carrying other vehicles and had not exited Customs control before intelligence from Canadian authorities prompted swift intervention.

He said upon receiving the alert and relevant shipping documents through official channels, officers immediately isolated the consignment, extracted the vehicle and placed it under enforcement custody pending diplomatic verification.

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 added that the Service delayed the release of the vehicles until Canadian officials arrived to complete identification and recovery procedures, stressing the need to maintain the integrity of the process.

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,” he said.

Onyeka noted that the operation underscores the Service’s resolve to combat transnational vehicle theft syndicates exploiting global shipping routes.

He also said the recovery highlights growing cooperation between Nigeria and Canada in intelligence sharing, cargo profiling and maritime enforcement, particularly in tackling organised cross-border crimes involving stolen assets and illicit trade.

donkarly:
Nigerians are just disgracing themselves everywhere. Very soon,some countries will ban Nigerians. Are we cursed or we're the cause..

Dynamicboss:
It is not Nigerians stealing the cars na….. Na citizens of Canada Dey do am. The question is how do they bypass customs to export these cars is what amazes me. Also, the Nigerian buyers need to do proper research before purchasing these cars, anyway they will buy it since it is quite cheap and don’t care about the VIN status

Ironfaceman:
This is getting too much. When the Canadian government takes harsh action against Nigeria many innocent Nigerians will only suffer for the evils of a few demented dead to etiquette Nigerians.

Federal government should bring back firing squad

Federal government should enforce automobile dealers to register their vehicle VIN.

Federal government should also arrest and prosecute clearing agents that fail to follow due process.

Dynamicboss:
It is not Nigerians stealing the cars na….. Na citizens of Canada Dey do am. The question is how do they bypass customs to export these cars is what amazes me. Also, the Nigerian buyers need to do proper research before purchasing these cars, anyway they will buy it since it is quite cheap and don’t care about the VIN status

noskcid:
And who told you they don’t do these things you mentioned?

Our people are good at bye-passing things

Ironfaceman:
Where are they doing it.
That's why Nigeria is a haven for stolen cars in case you don't know.
90% of so called Belgium cars are stolen.

There is no website in Nigeria to lookup VIN of Belgium cars hence this disease thrive

donkarly:
It's a syndicate bro,Nigerians are accomplices.
I'm amazed too,I didn't ever expect such could happen in such an advanced country. This sure will make them tighten their borders. As you rightly said,some cars on our roads are stolen. My cousin brought one from the US. After some months,the car couldn't move again. All cars specialists worked on it,yet nothing. He later towed it to Lagos and abandoned it there. We later got to know it was a stolen car. They locked it from there when it was reported stolen

noskcid:
You are mistaking my chief, I am an auto dealer and I have been in the game since 2016.

You are permitted to Google search a vin tag on Google search and it will bring all the info about that car if it was sold in the auction market and if it was bought from a dealership, that dealership will still give you clearance documents that will enable the authorities pass you in usa or Canada.

Did you know that the auction website always post on their website to pay so that that vin tag be removed from their site?

Why is that?

So that people coming to check if the car is accidented will not see the information from Nigeria most especially.


Oga whatever gets into Nigeria, wether stolen or not, if it is not alarmed like this ones, e don go.

Take iPhone and Samsung as a case study.

How many dem don catch?

chopnaira:
What the fvck.
How were the thieves in Canada able to bypass the security system of 2019 Mercedes-Benz G550, 2023 Land Rover Range Rover, 2019 Lamborghini Huracán, 2021 Rolls-Royce Dawn Convertible, and 2018 Lamborghini Aventador?

Car manufacturers need to do better. It's unfair to pay so much for a car only to get easily stolen.

wayodude:
It is not Nigerians stealing the cars but they are consistently ending up on Nigerian soil? Do you know what the law says about handling stolen goods?

chopnaira:
What the fvck.
How were the thieves in Canada able to bypass the security system of 2019 Mercedes-Benz G550, 2023 Land Rover Range Rover, 2019 Lamborghini Huracán, 2021 Rolls-Royce Dawn Convertible, and 2018 Lamborghini Aventador?

Car manufacturers need to do better. It's unfair to pay so much for a car only to get easily stolen.

Ironfaceman:
This is getting too much. When the Canadian government takes harsh action against Nigeria many innocent Nigerians will only suffer for the evils of a few demented dead to etiquette Nigerians.

Federal government should bring back firing squad

Federal government should enforce automobile dealers to register their vehicle VIN.

Federal government should also arrest and prosecute clearing agents that fail to follow due process.

VanuatuWycombe:
And also mandate all mechanics to report all repair histories in a dedicated app designed by Ministry of Transport, in conjunction with relevant security agencies.

chopnaira:
What the fvck.
How were the thieves in Canada able to bypass the security system of 2019 Mercedes-Benz G550, 2023 Land Rover Range Rover, 2019 Lamborghini Huracán, 2021 Rolls-Royce Dawn Convertible, and 2018 Lamborghini Aventador?

Car manufacturers need to do better. It's unfair to pay so much for a car only to get easily stolen.