Ghanaian law enforcement officers, working alongside counterparts from 11 other West African countries, have played a pivotal role in an international crackdown on vehicle crime that uncovered about 150 stolen vehicles and led to the seizure of more than 75.

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The joint effort, spearheaded by INTERPOL and dubbed Operation Safe Wheels, aimed at curbing the trafficking of stolen vehicles in the region.

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It was executed between 17 and 30 March and saw law enforcement teams establish an average of 46 checkpoints daily, inspecting around 12,600 vehicles and cross-checking their details with INTERPOL’s Stolen Motor Vehicle (SMV) database.

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The operation, supported by INTERPOL’s SMV Task Force, unearthed the involvement of two organized crime groups and sparked 18 fresh investigations. It was part of Project Drive Out – a new initiative funded by the Government of Canada to tackle auto theft and the illegal spare parts market.

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INTERPOL revealed that the majority of the vehicles identified during the operation had been smuggled from Canada, with others reported stolen in European countries such as France, Germany, and the Netherlands.

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Toyota was the most frequently recovered brand, followed by Peugeot and Honda. Smuggling was carried out via both land and sea routes.

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In Nigeria’s port city of Lagos, for instance, customs officials discovered six suspicious vehicles—Toyota and Lexus models—hidden in freight containers from Canada.

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Four showed signs of forced entry, and checks later confirmed that all had been stolen in Canada in 2024. Collaborative investigations between Nigerian authorities and Canada’s INTERPOL bureau are underway.

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INTERPOL deployed nine experts, including a vehicle examiner from Canada, across several countries, including Ghana, to support on-the-ground activities. Their efforts proved vital in tracking and verifying stolen vehicles.

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David Caunter, INTERPOL’s Director of Organized and Emerging Crime, highlighted the broader implications of vehicle theft:“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.

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Stolen vehicles are trafficked across the globe, traded for drugs and other illicit commodities, enriching organized crime groups and even terrorists.

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INTERPOL’s SMV database is the strongest tool we have to track stolen vehicles and identify the criminals involved in this global trade.”

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In 2024 alone, nearly 270,000 stolen vehicles were identified worldwide using the SMV database.

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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.

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