A court order has been obtained by the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) to seize cars that are thought to have been stolen and smuggled into the nation.
According to EOCO, the court’s freezing order would allow it to confiscate 95 further cars in December 2022, in addition to the 41 already seized in cooperation with the US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
Additionally, the injunction was issued to stop anyone from getting rid of the automobiles.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) was also alerted to be on the watch for any potential effort to register or alter ownership of any of the cars, according to a statement sent to the media by EOCO.
stolen automobiles
EOCO reported that it has information to the effect that 400 or so high-end automobiles thought to have been stolen from the USA and Canada were present.
The aforementioned automobiles were allegedly purchased through fraud and other offences, brought into the nation, and some of them were offered for sale at many garages in Accra.
Background
The expensive automobiles were recovered on Friday, December 9, 2022, by EOCO working with its overseas allies in an operation driven by intelligence.
In the course of the operation, 37 expensive automobiles were collected from various garages, and 10 people were detained.
Later, four more automobiles were found, bringing the total number of recovered vehicles to 41.
The garages from where the cars were collected were at Dzorwulu, Dimples, North Kaneshie, East Legon, Accra Central next to the Movenpick Hotel, Dzorwulu roundabout, close to the Fiesta Royale Hotel, and a location close to the Trinity Theological Seminary.
A few of the vehicles were the BMW X7 and X5, the Jeep Wrangler, the Mercedes-Benz S-class, the Mercedes-Benz GLE, the Mercedes-Benz G, the Audi SS, the Range Rover LNDR, the Jonder Odyssey, the Benz 5350, the Honda Accord, the Lexus RX, the Ford Explorer, the Honda Pilot, and the Acura RDX.
Some of the garage owners, according to EOCO, have answered calls from the office and provided papers to aid in additional investigations.
Advice
Therefore, EOCO has recommended potential car buyers to always do their research before buying cars.
The EOCO Act 2010 (Act 804) created the specialized agency EOCO with the mandate to track, investigate, and prosecute economic and organized crime on behalf of the Attorney General in order to recoup criminal proceeds.
The office works with pertinent foreign and international organizations as part of its duties to further its goals.
