Nigeria Police Recover Two Stolen Vehicles from the Netherlands

The Nigeria Police Force has recorded a significant success in its fight against transnational organized crime with the recovery of two luxury vehicles stolen from the Netherlands and illegally imported into the country.

Operatives of the INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB), Abuja, in collaboration with INTERPOL NCB The Hague, traced and recovered the vehicles — a 2020 Toyota C-HR and a 2019 Toyota RAV4 — from separate locations in Lagos and Akwa Ibom States.

Investigations revealed that the vehicles were stolen from Amsterdam and Midden-Nederland, then shipped to Nigeria through the Port of Antwerp, Belgium, before arriving at Apapa Port, Lagos, in late 2023.

Following their recovery, the Nigeria Police, through INTERPOL NCB Abuja, initiated civil forfeiture proceedings at the Federal High Court, Abuja. After due legal processes, the Court granted a final forfeiture order in favour of the Government of the Netherlands, represented by the vehicles’ insurance company, paving the way for their lawful repatriation.

On October 20, 2025, the INTERPOL NCB Abuja team formally handed over the recovered vehicles to representatives of the insurance company and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Nigeria, marking the successful conclusion of the cross-border recovery and restitution process.

The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, Ph.D., NPM, commended the professionalism of the INTERPOL operatives and lauded their effective collaboration with international partners, especially INTERPOL NCB The Hague.

He emphasized that the operation underscores the Nigeria Police Force’s unwavering commitment to global law enforcement cooperation and its determination to disrupt criminal networks involved in cross-border vehicle theft and smuggling.

The Nigeria Police reaffirmed its dedication to intelligence-led policing and stronger international collaborations aimed at curbing transnational organized crimes in all forms.

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Adedokun Sunday

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