Nigeria Police recover stolen vehicles from Netherlands, hand over to Dutch authorities
The Nigeria Police Force has recovered two high-end vehicles stolen from the Netherlands and illegally shipped into Nigeria, marking a major success in the fight against transnational organized crime.
In a statement issued on Monday by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, operatives of the INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB), Abuja, in a coordinated operation with INTERPOL NCB The Hague, successfully traced and recovered the vehicles—a Toyota C-HR (2020 model) and a Toyota RAV4 (2019 model)—from separate locations in Lagos and Akwa Ibom States.
Investigations revealed that the vehicles were stolen from Amsterdam and Midden-Nederland and subsequently shipped to Nigeria through the Port of Antwerp, Belgium, arriving Apapa, Lagos, in late 2023.
Following their recovery, the Nigeria Police Force, through INTERPOL NCB Abuja, instituted civil forfeiture proceedings at the Federal High Court, Abuja. Upon the conclusion of due legal processes, the Court granted a final forfeiture order in favour of the Government of the Netherlands, through the vehicles’ insurance company, thereby authorizing their lawful repatriation.
In furtherance of this directive, the Nigeria Police Force INTERPOL team, on Monday, 20th October 2025, formally handed over the recovered vehicles to representatives of the insurance company and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Nigeria. This marked 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 operatives of INTERPOL NCB Abuja for their professionalism and the effective synergy demonstrated with international partners, particularly INTERPOL NCB The Hague.
He noted that the successful recovery and repatriation of the vehicles underscore the Force’s unwavering commitment to global law enforcement cooperation and its determination to ensure that criminal networks involved in cross-border vehicle theft and smuggling are denied the proceeds of their crimes.
The Nigeria Police Force reaffirmed its dedication to strengthening intelligence-led policing and enhancing international collaboration in addressing all forms of transnational organized crime.
