The Nigeria Customs Service has handed over several stolen luxury vehicles traced to Canada after intercepting them at Tin Can Island Port in what officials described as a major breakthrough against transnational vehicle theft syndicates.

The recovered vehicles were formally returned to Canadian authorities during a ceremony held at the port on Monday, May 4, 2026.

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.

According to a statement issued by Customs spokesperson Abdullahi Maiwada, the operation followed months of intelligence sharing between Nigerian authorities and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The intercepted vehicles included a 2019 Lexus RX350, a 2019 Mercedes-Benz G550, a 2023 Range Rover, a 2019 Lamborghini Huracán, a 2021 Rolls-Royce Dawn Convertible, a 2018 Lamborghini Aventador and a 2026 Toyota Tundra.

Customs said investigations confirmed that all the vehicles had been stolen abroad before being illegally shipped into Nigeria through international cargo networks.

Speaking during the handover ceremony, Onyeka revealed that one of the vehicles, a Toyota Tacoma, had been concealed inside a container carrying other automobiles before officers intercepted it.

“What looked like a routine cargo movement quickly became an international criminal investigation,” Onyeka said.

He explained that Customs officials immediately placed the shipment under enforcement watch after receiving intelligence from Canadian authorities and delayed its release pending verification.

Onyeka described the interception as evidence of Nigeria’s improving capacity to combat organised international crime, particularly vehicle theft and illicit cargo trafficking.

The Customs Service also said the operation highlighted growing security cooperation between Nigeria and Canada in intelligence sharing, cargo profiling and maritime enforcement against cross-border criminal networks.