Ghana Police Recover 43 Stolen Luxury Vehicles Smuggled into Country
The Ghana Police Service, through its Criminal Investigations Department (CID), has successfully recovered 43 stolen luxury vehicles that were illegally shipped into Ghana between January and June 2025.
Damian Owusu 
In a sweeping crackdown on transnational vehicle theft, the Ghana Police Service, through its Criminal Investigations Department (CID), has successfully recovered 43 stolen luxury vehicles that were illegally shipped into Ghana between January and June 2025.
The vehicles — including high-end models such as Rolls-Royce, Audi Q8, Porsche, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz — were traced to thefts in eight countries: the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Canada, USA, Germany, Italy, and France.
The operation was executed in partnership with INTERPOL, the FBI, Digipol, and Ghana’s Customs Division. According to COP Lydia Yaako Donkor, Director-General of CID, the success of the operation underscores the importance of “intelligence sharing and coordinated enforcement across borders.”
Out of the 43 vehicles:
18 have been cleared by Ghanaian courts for repatriation.
8 have already been returned to their countries of origin.
10 are awaiting repatriation.
25 remain under litigation in Ghanaian courts.
Investigations revealed that international syndicates used sophisticated methods to smuggle the vehicles:
1.Renting vehicles with fake identities, then shipping them abroad mid-contract.
2.Disabling tracking systems and falsifying shipping documents.
3.Using stolen credit card details to acquire vehicles on hire-purchase terms.
4.Employing the vehicles in money laundering, romance fraud, and extortion schemes.
COP Donkor emphasized that payment of customs duties does not confer legal ownership. She urged the public to:
Request proof of ownership from the country of origin before purchasing imported vehicles.
Avoid relying solely on customs documentation.
Report suspicious vehicle transactions to the police.
A CID taskforce also impounded six more vehicles — including four Toyota Tundras, one Toyota RAV4, and one Range Rover — all confirmed stolen from Canada.
