Acccording to press release on Sunday, the handover ceremony was held on Monday, May 4, 2026, at the Tin Can Island Port in Lagos, where the Deputy High Commissioner of Canada to Nigeria, Mr. Nasser Salihou, received the recovered vehicles from the Customs Area Controller, Tin Can Island Command, Comptroller Frank Onyeka.
The recovery followed months of intelligence sharing and operational collaboration between the NCS and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), after Canadian authorities identified several stolen exotic vehicles believed to have been illegally shipped into Nigeria through international maritime routes.
According to an internal Customs document dated May 5, 2026, the intercepted vehicles included 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.
Customs authorities confirmed that all the vehicles had been stolen in Canada before being illegally exported and smuggled into Nigeria.
Speaking during the handover ceremony, Comptroller Onyeka revealed that one of the vehicles, a Toyota Tacoma, had been concealed inside a container transporting other vehicles and was still under Customs control when intelligence from Canadian authorities prompted immediate action.
He explained that upon receiving the alert and relevant shipping documents through official channels, officers of the Tin Can Island Command swiftly isolated the suspicious container, extracted the vehicle, and placed it under enforcement custody pending diplomatic verification.
“What appeared to be a routine cargo movement quickly developed into an international criminal investigation. Once intelligence reached us, we immediately placed the consignment under enforcement watch and secured the vehicle pending confirmation from Canadian authorities,” Onyeka stated.
The Customs Area Controller added that the Service deliberately delayed the release of the recovered vehicles until Canadian government officials arrived personally to complete identification and recovery procedures.
“We had individuals who attempted to intervene on behalf of others, but the matter was too sensitive. We insisted that the handover must be made directly to the Canadian government in order to preserve the integrity of the process,” he said.
Onyeka noted that the operation demonstrates the Nigeria Customs Service’s growing capacity to combat transnational vehicle theft syndicates that exploit global shipping routes to move stolen automobiles across international borders.
He further stated that the successful recovery highlights the strengthening cooperation between Nigeria and Canada in intelligence sharing, cargo profiling, and maritime enforcement aimed at tackling organised cross-border crimes, illicit trade, and other fraudulent activities.