International Vehicle Crime Results Presented at INTERPOL Conference at INTERPOL HQ in Lyon
One of the most highlighted presentation was the Ghana’s fight against international vehicle crime was highlighted at INTERPOL’s 5th Global Conference on Vehicle Crime in Lyon, France, where the Ghana Police Service Criminal Investigations Department (CID), together with DIGITPOL and international partners, presented the results of ongoing cross-border investigations and vehicle recovery operations.
The conference, held at INTERPOL headquarters in Lyon in November 2025, brought together law enforcement agencies, vehicle crime specialists and private sector partners from around the world. Participants examined the changing nature of international vehicle crime and the growing importance of digital forensics, artificial intelligence, vehicle identification technology and intelligence sharing.
Vehicle crime is no longer simply a matter of cars being stolen in one city and sold in another. Criminal networks can move vehicles across several borders while using fraud, false identities, international shipping networks and financial crime to conceal their activities.
This changing threat was a central theme of the conference. COP Lydia Yaako Donkor, Director-General of the Ghana Police Service CID, highlighted the need for law enforcement agencies to combine advanced investigative tools with strong international cooperation.
Ghana Presents Operational Results in Lyon
COP Lydia Yaako Donkor presented Ghana’s experience to conference participants, demonstrating how intelligence received from international partners can be transformed into operational investigations, vehicle identification, seizures and ultimately the repatriation of stolen vehicles.
The results presented by Ghana demonstrate the scale of the challenge.
Between January and July 2025, the Ghana CID recovered 43 high-value vehicles stolen internationally and transported to Ghana. The vehicles originated from countries including the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Canada, the United States, Germany, Italy and France.
Recovered vehicles included models from Rolls-Royce, Audi, Porsche, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
The operations are particularly significant because international vehicle crime is increasingly connected to other forms of organised crime. Investigations have identified links with activities including money laundering, insurance fraud and identity-related offences.
Intelligence Sharing Delivers Results
A key element of Ghana’s success has been cooperation between national authorities and international partners.
The Ghana CID works closely with the Ghana Revenue Authority Customs Division, INTERPOL, DIGITPOL and the FBI, exchanging intelligence concerning vehicles stolen abroad and transported into Ghana, as well as information concerning the organised criminal groups involved.
This intelligence led approach enables suspicious vehicles to be identified and verified against information from their countries of origin.
The Ghana operation demonstrates why rapid international information exchange is essential. A vehicle stolen in Europe or North America can quickly pass through multiple jurisdictions before arriving at its final destination. By the time conventional investigative channels identify the vehicle, it may already have been registered, sold or transferred to another person.
International cooperation helps close that gap.
Digital Forensics, AI and Modern Vehicle Investigations
INTERPOL’s Lyon conference also examined how technology is transforming vehicle crime investigations.
Digital forensics, AI-driven analysis and modern investigative methods are becoming increasingly important as criminal techniques evolve.
For DIGITPOL, the work in Ghana demonstrates the importance of combining technology with operational law enforcement.
Vehicle data, digital evidence, international stolen-vehicle records and intelligence from multiple jurisdictions can help investigators establish a vehicle’s true identity and history. When combined with physical vehicle examination and cooperation between police, customs authorities, insurers and international partners, this information can provide the evidence required to identify stolen vehicles and investigate the networks behind them.
Dedicated Task Force
Ghana has also established a dedicated task force conducting intelligence-led operations against international vehicle crime, DIGITPOL is a member of the task-force.
According to reporting on the CID operation, the task force recovered a further six vehicles stolen from Canada: four Toyota Tundras, one Toyota RAV4 and one Range Rover.
The results reinforce the value of combining international intelligence with targeted investigations inside the destination country.
