By Ademola Adekusibe
October 21, 2025
The Nigeria Police Force has successfully recovered two vehicles that were stolen from the Netherlands and illegally shipped into Nigeria, a 2020 Toyota C-HR and a 2019 Toyota RAV4.
According to a statement by the Force Headquarters, operatives of the INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB) in Abuja, working in collaboration with INTERPOL NCB The Hague, tracked down and retrieved the vehicles from different locations in Lagos and Akwa Ibom States.
Investigations revealed that the vehicles were originally stolen from Amsterdam and Midden-Nederland before being transported through the Port of Antwerp in Belgium and subsequently shipped to Lagos, Nigeria, in late 2023.
Following extensive legal processes, the Federal High Court in Abuja granted a final order for the forfeiture of the vehicles in favor of the Dutch government through the vehicles’ insurance company. The court’s decision authorized their official return to the Netherlands.
After the court’s ruling, the INTERPOL NCB Abuja team handed over the recovered vehicles to representatives of the insurance company and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Nigeria.
The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, commended the professionalism of the INTERPOL operatives involved in the recovery. He highlighted that the successful operation demonstrated the Nigeria Police Force’s unwavering commitment to international law enforcement cooperation and its readiness to dismantle transnational criminal networks operating across borders.
Egbetokun also emphasized that the collaboration between INTERPOL NCB Abuja and The Hague reflects Nigeria’s determination to strengthen mutual partnerships with global policing bodies to ensure accountability and justice in international crime investigations.
