An international police operation targeting vehicle crime in West Africa has led to the detection of approximately 150 stolen vehicles and the seizure of more than 75 vehicles.

Coordinated by INTERPOL and carried out by national law enforcement agencies in 12 West African countries, the operation – codenamed 'Safe Wheels' – 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, around 270,000 vehicles were identified as stolen globally through the SMV database.

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.”

Stolen Canadian cars in Nigeria

During the two-week operational phase (17-30 March), 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, Toyota models were the most represented, followed by Peugeot and Honda.

Both land and sea routes were used to traffic stolen vehicles detected during the operation.

In Lagos, during checks of freight containers purportedly from Canada, Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) officers discovered six vehicles – Toyota and Lexus models – four of which showed clear signs of break-in.

Checks against INTERPOL's SMV database confirmed that all six vehicles were reported stolen in Canada in 2024. Investigative collaboration is ongoing between the NCS and Canada's INTERPOL National Central Bureau .  

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, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo – to support Operation Safe Wheels.

Operation Safe Wheels took place under the aegis of Project Drive Out – a new partnership between INTERPOL and the Government of Canada to target vehicle theft and the illegal trade of spare parts – and was made possible by Canadian funding.

INTERPOL member countries that participated in the operation were: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, and Togo.