How Stolen Rolls-Royce, Lamborghinis Were Tracked to Lagos Port

How Stolen Rolls-Royce, Lamborghinis Were Tracked to Lagos Port

 

What began as a routine cargo shipment at Lagos Tin Can Island Port soon unfolded into an international criminal investigation involving stolen luxury vehicles, intelligence operatives and cross-border tracking stretching from Canada to Nigeria.

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted and recovered seven high-end vehicles allegedly stolen in Canada and smuggled into Nigeria through the Lagos port.

Among the recovered vehicles were a 2021 Rolls-Royce Dawn Convertible, 2019 Lamborghini Huracán, 2018 Lamborghini Aventador, 2023 Range Rover, Mercedes-Benz G550, Lexus RX350 and a 2026 Toyota Tundra.

Customs disclosed that all the vehicles had earlier been reported stolen in Canada before being illegally exported through international shipping routes into Nigeria.

The breakthrough followed intelligence sharing between the Nigeria Customs Service and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, RCMP, in what officials described as a major crackdown on transnational vehicle theft syndicates exploiting global maritime trade channels.

Speaking during the handover of the recovered vehicles to Canada’s Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Frank Onyeka, the Customs Area Controller of Tin Can Island Command, said the operation exposed how organised criminal networks attempt to move stolen luxury automobiles across continents under the guise of legitimate cargo.

According to Onyeka, Canadian authorities had traced several stolen vehicles believed to have entered Nigerian shipping routes, prompting immediate surveillance and enforcement measures at the Lagos port.

He revealed that one of the vehicles, a Toyota Tacoma, was cleverly concealed inside a container carrying other automobiles and was on the verge of clearance before intelligence from Canada triggered a rapid intervention.

“What appeared to be a normal cargo shipment suddenly turned into an international criminal investigation. Once the intelligence came in, we immediately placed the container under watch and secured the vehicle,” Onyeka said.

He explained that after receiving official shipping documents and alerts from Canadian authorities, Customs officers isolated the suspicious consignment and prevented the vehicles from leaving the port.

The Customs boss added that the agency resisted pressure from individuals allegedly seeking to claim the vehicles on behalf of unnamed parties, insisting that the recovered automobiles would only be released directly to Canadian government officials.

“We had people trying to intervene, but this operation was too sensitive. We insisted the handover must be done strictly with representatives of the Canadian government to preserve the integrity of the process,” he added.

The successful interception, according to Customs, underscores growing cooperation between Nigeria and Canada in combating international auto theft, cargo fraud and maritime smuggling.

Officials also described the operation as a warning to criminal syndicates increasingly using African ports as transit points for stolen luxury vehicles and illicit international trade.