WEST AFRICA – May 2, 2025 – A sweeping international police operation led by INTERPOL has resulted in the detection of approximately 150 stolen vehicles and the seizure of more than 75 across 12 West African countries, including Ghana and Nigeria.
The two-week operation, code-named “Safe Wheels”, was part of INTERPOL’s Project Drive Out—a Canada-backed initiative aimed at combatting the trafficking of stolen vehicles and auto parts in the region. The crackdown led to the launch of 18 new investigations and exposed the operations of two major organized crime syndicates.
Many of the vehicles were originally stolen in Canada, with others flagged as missing in France, Germany, and the Netherlands. INTERPOL’s Stolen Motor Vehicle (SMV) database was pivotal in identifying and tracking the vehicles across borders.
In Nigeria, customs officers discovered six stolen Toyota and Lexus vehicles hidden in containers at the Lagos port. These vehicles, all confirmed stolen from Canada in 2024, showed signs of forced entry. Investigations are now being conducted in collaboration with Canada’s INTERPOL National Central Bureau.
In Ghana and other countries, security teams set up 46 checkpoints daily between March 17 and 30, inspecting over 12,600 vehicles. Frequently flagged brands included Toyota, Peugeot, and Honda.
INTERPOL officials emphasized that vehicle theft is not a localized crime, but rather part of a global criminal economy linked to drug trafficking, terrorism, and transnational organized crime.
“Each year, hundreds of thousands of vehicles are stolen around the world, yet the initial theft is often only the beginning of a vehicle’s journey into the global criminal underworld,” said David Caunter, INTERPOL’s Director of Organized and Emerging Crime.
Participating countries in Operation Safe Wheels included: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, and Togo. INTERPOL also deployed a special team of nine SMV Task Force experts to support field operations across six nations.
The success of “Safe Wheels” highlights growing regional cooperation and the effectiveness of INTERPOL’s global tools in tracking and recovering stolen assets.
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