Nigeria Police, Interpol Recover Stolen Vehicles From Netherlands
Police say the recovery marked a significant breakthrough in the fight against transnational organised crime.The Nigeria Police Force has announced that operatives of the INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB), Abuja, in a coordinated operation with INTERPOL NCB The Hague, traced and recovered a Toyota C-HR (2020 model) and a Toyota RAV4 (2019 model) from separate locations in Lagos and Akwa Ibom States.A statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, revealed that the recovery of the two high-end vehicles, which were stolen from the Netherlands and illegally shipped into Nigeria, marked a significant breakthrough in the fight against transnational organised crime.
The statement said, “Investigations revealed that the vehicles were stolen from Amsterdam and Midden-Nederland and subsequently shipped to Nigeria through the Port of Antwerp, Belgium, arriving at Apapa, Lagos, in late 2023.”It added that, following the recovery, the Nigeria Police Force, through INTERPOL NCB Abuja, instituted civil forfeiture proceedings at the Federal High Court, Abuja. Upon conclusion of the due legal processes, the Court granted a final forfeiture order in favour of the Government of the Netherlands, through the vehicles’ insurance company, thereby facilitating their lawful repatriation.
The statement further added that, in furtherance of this process, the Nigeria Police Force INTERPOL 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 effort.
