The Gombe State Police Command has handed over a Toyota Highlander recovered in the state to its rightful owner, Mrs Cecilia A. Duru of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, nearly five years after the vehicle was stolen.
The vehicle was presented to its owner on Friday after police concluded investigations that confirmed her ownership.
In a statement, the Police Public Relations Officer in Gombe, DSP Buhari Abdullahi, said the SUV was recovered on June 8, 2026, by operatives of the State Intelligence Department (SID) in collaboration with officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).
He said the vehicle was intercepted during a routine vehicle data verification exercise at the Gombe State Internal Revenue Service Vehicle Licensing Office, where discrepancies in its registration documents raised suspicion.
The police described the successful recovery and return of the vehicle as a demonstration to the effectiveness of intelligence-led policing and inter-agency collaboration in combating vehicle theft and related crimes.
The command said efforts were ongoing to track down and prosecute those responsible for stealing and illegally transporting the vehicle across international borders.
It also advised prospective vehicle buyers to verify the authenticity of ownership documents before purchasing any vehicle and urged members of the public to report suspicious transactions promptly to security agencies.
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