Another One! Customs Office Finally Hands Over Multi-billion Rolls-Royce | Details Here!
SWIFT DAILY NEWS
By Our Correspondent
The Nigeria Customs Service has recovered and handed over seven luxury vehicles allegedly stolen from Canada and smuggled into Nigeria through the Tin Can Island Port in Lagos, in what authorities described as a major breakthrough against transnational vehicle theft syndicates.
The recovered vehicles include a 2021 Rolls-Royce Dawn Convertible, a 2019 Lamborghini Huracán, a 2018 Lamborghini Aventador, a 2023 Land Rover Range Rover, a 2019 Mercedes-Benz G550, a 2019 Lexus RX350, and a 2026 Toyota Tundra.
According to Customs documents dated May 5, 2026, investigations established that the luxury automobiles had been stolen in Canada before being illegally exported into Nigeria through sophisticated international shipping networks.
The operation was carried out through intelligence sharing and close collaboration between the Nigeria Customs Service and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as part of ongoing efforts to combat organised cross-border crime, vehicle theft, and illicit trade.
Speaking during the official handover ceremony to Canada’s Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Nasser Salihou, the Customs Area Controller of Tin Can Island Command, Comptroller Frank Onyeka, said the investigation began after Canadian authorities traced several stolen vehicles believed to have been shipped into Nigeria.
Onyeka revealed that one of the recovered vehicles, a Toyota Tacoma, had been secretly concealed inside a container transporting other vehicles and was intercepted before it could leave Customs custody.
“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 Customs officers moved swiftly after receiving intelligence alerts and shipping documentation from Canada, isolating the suspicious shipment and placing it under strict enforcement control.
According to Onyeka, the Nigeria Customs Service resisted pressure from individuals attempting to intervene on behalf of unknown parties and insisted that the vehicles would only be released directly to Canadian government officials to ensure transparency and preserve the integrity of the recovery 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 to preserve the integrity of the process,” he added.
Customs authorities described the successful operation as a strong signal of Nigeria’s commitment to dismantling international vehicle theft rings that exploit global maritime routes to traffic stolen automobiles across continents.
Officials further hailed the growing cooperation between Nigeria and Canada in intelligence exchange, cargo profiling, and maritime enforcement, saying the partnership is strengthening the fight against organised transnational crime and illegal trade networks.
