The INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB), Abuja, has  recovered and repatriated a Lexus SUV (2018 model) and a Toyota Hilux truck  (2025 model) that were snatched at gunpoint from their drivers in Abuja and trafficked to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, by a criminal syndicate specialising in cross-border vehicle trafficking within Nigeria and the Sahel region.

According to the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), CSP Anietie Iniedu, the Lexus SUV was snatched on August 3, 2025, while the owner of the Toyota Hilux was similarly dispossessed of the vehicle on February 20, 2026.

Iniedu said following requests for assistance from the Special Adviser to the Nigerian President on Energy and, separately, the Office of the Federal Capital Territory Primary Health Care Board, INTERPOL NCB Abuja activated its cooperation channels with INTERPOL NCB Ouagadougou to trace and recover the vehicles.

“Through the coordinated efforts of the Office of the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the Nigerian Ambassador to Burkina Faso, and the intelligence counterparts at NCB Ouagadougou, both vehicles were successfully traced, recovered, and repatriated to Nigeria.

They have since been formally handed over to representatives of the Special Adviser to the President on Energy and the Office of the FCT Primary Health Care Board.

“In the course of the operation, one suspect, Issoufou Nagimou, was arrested and has been charged before the High Court of Burkina Faso.

“The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) reaffirms its commitment to deepening international police cooperation through the INTERPOL platform and to relentlessly pursuing criminal syndicates involved in cross-border vehicle trafficking, in furtherance of its mandate to protect lives and property,” he stated.