Another Cocaine from Ghana Busted in Beirut

A Syrian national who successfully left Ghana with two travelling bags stuffed with 46.7 kilogrammes of suspected cocaine has been arrested in Beirut, Lebanon by officials there after he attempted to smuggle the drugs into that country. 

Lebanese authorities have described the arrest as the largest cocaine seizure in the history of Rafic Hariri International Airport.

Ghana’s Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) has confirmed the suspect, identified only by his initials, B.H., was arrested on Saturday, October 31, 2026, shortly after arriving in Beirut aboard Middle East Airlines flight MEA 576 from Accra. NACOC said the arrest followed a coordinated controlled delivery operation involving close collaboration between Ghanaian and Lebanese drug law enforcement authorities.

According to NACOC, the suspect arrived with the suspected narcotic substance concealed in two pieces of luggage. Lebanese Customs said officers found 40 packages of cocaine in the luggage, concealed using sophisticated packaging and insulation materials designed to evade detection by scanning equipment. Electronic tracking devices were also found inside the packages.

While NACOC put the quantity involved at approximately 40 kilogrammes of suspected cocaine, Lebanese Customs said the seizure totalled 46.7 kilogrammes. Preliminary investigations indicated that the suspect had entered Lebanon through the Masnaa border crossing several weeks earlier before travelling to Accra and returning with the consignment. Customs said the findings suggested he had been tasked with transporting and delivering the drugs as part of an organised smuggling operation.

NACOC said it was working to identify and arrest the suspect’s accomplices in Ghana as part of ongoing operations to dismantle the criminal network behind the shipment. The Commission explained that the joint operation was designed to identify and apprehend targets at both ends of the drug supply chain while gathering intelligence to dismantle the wider transnational criminal syndicate responsible for the shipment.

“The successful operation highlights the importance of international cooperation and intelligence-sharing in the fight against drug trafficking,” NACOC said, reaffirming Ghana’s commitment, alongside Lebanon, to disrupting international drug trafficking networks through cross-border law enforcement collaboration.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam congratulated the General Security and Lebanese Customs for foiling the smuggling attempt, commending the coordination and intelligence-sharing between the two agencies.

He said Lebanon’s land, sea and air border crossings “would not serve as conduits for drug smuggling, money laundering or any other illegal activities,” adding that the government would continue to tighten border controls, strengthen coordination among security agencies and intensify efforts to combat smuggling networks and organised crime.

Investigators are still working to identify the person who was expected to receive the consignment at a designated location in Lebanon. The operation follows other major drug interceptions in Lebanon this year, including the August arrest of a Lebanese man who arrived from Brazil with 4.9 kilogrammes of cocaine concealed in the bottoms of two suitcases, and the seizure of 3.5 tonnes of narcotics at the Port of Beirut a month earlier.