An international police operation targeting vehicle crime in West Africa has led to the detection of approximately 150 stolen vehicles.
The operation, codenamed Safe Wheels, took place from March 17 to 30, 2025 and involved national law enforcement agencies across 12 West African countries, including Ghana and Nigeria, led to the seizure of more than 75 vehicles.
The operation also initiated 18 new investigations and uncovered the involvement of two organized crime groups.
Most of the stolen vehicles detected through INTERPOL’s Stolen Motor Vehicle (SMV) database were trafficked from Canada, while many had also been reported stolen in France, Germany and the Netherlands.
INTERPOL’s SMV database allows police in the Organization’s 196 member countries to run a check against a suspicious vehicle and find out instantly whether it has been reported as stolen.
In 2024, the SMV database identified around 270,000 stolen vehicles.
David Caunter, Director of Organized and Emerging Crime at INTERPOL, said: “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.
“Stolen vehicles are trafficked across the globe, traded for drugs and other illicit commodities, enriching organized crime groups and even terrorists.
“INTERPOL’s SMV database is the strongest tool we have to track stolen vehicles and identify the criminals involved in this global trade.”
During the two-week operation, law enforcement in participating countries established an average of 46 checkpoints each day to inspect a total of 12,600 vehicles, checking their details against INTERPOL’s SMV database.
Out of the vehicles seized or flagged as stolen, the popular models were Toyota, followed by Peugeot and Honda. The operation detect that both land and sea routes were used to traffic stolen vehicles.
In Nigeria, the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) uncovered six high-end vehicles – Toyota and Lexus models – four of which showed clear signs of break-in hidden in freight containers arriving in Lagos from Canada.
Checks against INTERPOL’s SMV database confirmed that all six vehicles were reported stolen in Canada in 2024. Investigations are ongoing in collaboration with Canada’s INTERPOL National Central Bureau and Nigerian Customs Services.
Nine law enforcement officers and experts from INTERPOL’s SMV Task Force, including an expert examiner from Canada, were also deployed to the region – in Benin, Cabo Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo – to support Operation Safe Wheels.
The operation forms part of Project Drive Out, a joint initiative between INTERPOL and the Government of Canada, aimed at curbing the smuggling of stolen vehicles and illegal car parts. The project is backed by Canadian funding and technical support.
INTERPOL member countries that participated in the operation were: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, and Togo.
