Lebanese Customs seized 46.7kg of cocaine from a Syrian passenger who arrived from Accra, Ghana, in the biggest drug bust in Beirut airport’s history.
A Syrian passenger who flew into Beirut from Accra, Ghana, has been arrested at Rafic Hariri International Airport after Lebanese authorities found 46.7 kilograms of cocaine in his luggage, in what customs described as the largest drug seizure in the airport’s history.
The General Directorate of Customs said on Sunday, November 1, 2026 that the operation, carried out with the General Security on Saturday, 31 October, led to the arrest of the traveler, who was identified only by his initials, B.H. He arrived from Accra on Middle East Airlines flight MEA 576.
Customs said officers found 40 packages of cocaine in his bags, hidden with sophisticated methods and complex packaging and insulation materials designed to evade scanning equipment.
“Electronic tracking devices were also found inside the packages,” the statement said.
Preliminary investigations showed that the suspect entered Lebanon through the Masnaa border crossing several weeks earlier, then travelled to Accra and returned with the shipment. Customs said this suggested he had been tasked with transporting and delivering the drugs as part of an organised smuggling operation.
Investigators are now trying to identify the person who was supposed to receive the consignment at a designated location, Customs said.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam congratulated the General Security and Lebanese Customs for foiling the attempt, praising the coordination and information-sharing between the two agencies, according to a statement posted on X by the Grand Serail.
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.” The government, he added, would keep tightening border controls, strengthen coordination among agencies, and fight smuggling networks and organised crime.
In August, the Internal Security Forces announced the arrest of a Lebanese man who arrived from Brazil with 4.9 kilograms of cocaine mixed with adhesive substances and hidden in the bottom of two suitcases at the same airport.
A month earlier, Lebanese customs seized 3.5 tonnes of narcotics at the Port of Beirut in a shipment said to be bound for an African country that was not named.
Lebanese authorities have pledged that the airport and the port will not be used as transit points for smuggling, and say they are working with several countries to exchange intelligence aimed at intercepting drug shipments.
