NIGERIANS may never know the importers and owners of the stolen luxury cars discovered at a port in Rivers State and on the streets of Lagos. But one thing is sure: smuggling syndicates are alive and well and doing incalculable harm to Nigeria and its people.

Three 2021 model Toyota Highlanders were found in a 40-ft container at the Onne Port, two confirmed to have been stolen from Canada. All three were undeclared, meaning they were not captured in the shipping documents. The aim was to fool the Customs officers. Crooked importers have done this for years.

More posh cars of similar dodgy profiles from Canada slipped through and were found on Lagos roads, in Lekki, Victoria Island, and Trinity, Apapa. They were Lamborghinis, Range Rovers, a Rolls Royce, and Toyota Highlanders. The cheapest was valued at well over N200 million.

The NCS has returned the 21 vehicles to Canada.

Two years ago, cars stolen from Canada were traced to Ghana. Customs chief, Adewale Adeniyi says West Africa is a hub for stolen vehicles. He adds that a sophisticated smuggling network extending from Europe and North America to South America and Australia drives the illicit trade in the region.

Nigeria is the largest vehicle importer in Africa and the third largest importer of used cars from the United States, behind the United Arab Emirates and China.

Along with a legitimate craving for imported cars is a huge appetite for stolen vehicles which come in through the porous land borders and poorly watched ports. ?Between 2013 and 2015 only 54 per cent of stolen vehicles were recovered, highlighting the scale and sophistication of this criminal enterprise,? Adeniyi lamented.

What happened to the rest 46 per cent? They probably ended up in the car marts and your garage. Given the prevalence of this smuggling ring, there is a likelihood that your Tokunbo car may have been stolen from far away and sneaked into Nigeria. This is an uncomfortable possibility for car owners of good conscience.

Former President Muhammadu Buhari?s ban on vehicle imports through the land borders took effect on January 1, 2017. In 2021 his administration launched the National Vehicle Registry Policy, which shared vehicle data among multiple agencies.

Sadly, those efforts hardly dissuaded the smugglers or shrank the smuggled vehicles market. Adeniyi launched Operation Hot Wheels to ?disrupt the flow of stolen vehicles into Nigeria through the ports and borders.? This was in addition to a regional platform called Operation Screen West Africa, and a collaboration with the EFCC and the Canadian authorities to share intelligence, launch joint surveillance, and go after vehicle smugglers.

Adeniyi believes the interception of the stolen luxury vehicles is the result of those operations and collaborations. He says smuggling in stolen vehicles ?undermines our automotive market, strains the security infrastructure and damages Nigeria?s image.?

Crooks put fake presidential number plates on the stolen vehicles to deceive Customs and security agents. The real danger is that when those illicit shipments slip through, they sometimes end up in the garages of unsuspecting buyers. This tarnishes Nigeria?s image, makes everyone look like a crook, and hurts business with foreign nationals. This must stop.

The ugly situation can be fixed. The porous borders Compromised Customs personnel who collude with crooks should be brought to justice to deter others. And leaky ports should be tightened. The stolen vehicle business must be made as difficult as possible.

Customs officers must step up intelligence gathering and strengthen vehicular tracking with modern technology. It is time security agents shut down the thriving market for stolen vehicles.

Though Nigeria?s weak economy has reduced most citizens to patrons of second-hand goods, buyers of used cars should be vigilant before taking one home. Otherwise, they may end up feeding an already thriving stolen vehicle market. (The PUNCH Editorial)

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