The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) has explained that the 37 luxury vehicles it has retrieved from some members of the vehicle and asset traders association are stolen vehicles.
According to EOCO, the vehicles were part of about 200 believed to have been stolen from Canada and the United States of America (USA).
The Deputy Director in Charge of Operations at EOCO, Nana Antwi told Graphic Online’s Emelia Ennin Abbey that the vehicles were being sold to unsuspecting persons.
They were retrieved through a joint operation with other security agencies following reports from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States of America and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), in Canada on the activity of some suspected criminals.
Joint operation
On Friday December 9, 2022, EOCO in collaboration with the FB) and Royal Canadian Mounted Police carried out an intelligence led operation for the retrieval of various specifications of luxury vehicles suspected to have been stolen from the United States of America and Canada.
The exercise saw officers of the participating agencies visiting six garages in Dzorwulu, Dimples, North Kaneshie, East Legon, Accra central near the Movenpick Hotel, Dzorwulu roundabout near the Fiesta Royal Hotel and near the Trinity Theology Seminary.
At the end of the joint action he said 37 vehicles were retrieved from some garages in Accra and 10 persons were arrested during the exercise.
The 10 persons have since been granted enquiry bail after they had been questioned.
The luxury vehicles retrieved included BMW X7 and X5, Jeep Wrangler, Mercedes Benz S-class, Mercedes Benz GLE, Mercedes Benz G, Audi SS, Range Rover LNDR, Jonder Odyssey, Benz 5350, Honda Accord, Lexus RX, Ford Explorer, Honda Pilot and Acura RDX.
Mr Antwi said the operation and investigations was an ongoing exercise and that when it was established that any of the retrieved vehicles had been lawfully acquired it would be returned to the owners while when any of the dealers who were found culpable would be put before court.
Caution
A statement signed by the Head of the Public Affairs Unit of EOCO, Faustina Lartey hinted that investigations into the allegations were ongoing.
It urged all prospective vehicle buyers to conduct due diligence prior to the purchase of vehicles.
EOCO is a specialized agency established through the EOCO Act 2010 (Act 804) to monitor and investigate economic and organised crime and on the authority of the Attorney General prosecute offenders to recover the proceeds of crime.
As part of the functions of the Office, it co-operates with relevant foreign or international agencies in furtherance of its objectives.
