Lebanon seizes 40kg of cocaine in Beirut airport's largest ever drug bust

Show caption: Forty packages of cocaine weighing about 1kg each were seize…

Syrian passenger arriving from Ghana arrested

The National

November 01, 2026

Lebanese authorities have arrested a Syrian passenger after seizing 40kg of cocaine at Beirut’s airport, in what the Finance Ministry described as the largest drug bust in the airport's history.

The ministry said customs officers, working with the General Directorate of General Security, had foiled an attempt to smuggle the drugs into Lebanon.

The passenger, identified by his initials as BH, arrived from Accra, Ghana, at 8pm on Saturday, the General Security said.

It said the passenger had been monitored since departing Ghana. Officers tracked him as he disembarked the plane and collected his two bags.

Working with customs officers, they searched his luggage and uncovered 40 packages containing cocaine, each weighing approximately 1kg. Apple AirTags tracking devices were also concealed inside the packages, the statement said.

The passenger was arrested and the seized items confiscated. Investigations are continuing to establish the full circumstances of the suspected trafficking network and arrest other people involved, the General Security said.

Show caption: The goods were discovered inside the luggage of a Syrian pas…

Show caption: Lebanese authorities suspect the shipment was part of a wide…

Lebanon, like other Middle East countries, has made extensive efforts to stamp out the illegal drug trade. In September 2025, Lebanon confiscated a huge consignment of the illegal drug Captagon in one of the largest busts in its history.

The Lebanese army said at the time it seized 64 million Captagon pills and 79 barrels of chemicals at a site in the town of Boudai in Baalbek district. It also found machines allegedly being used to manufacture the drug.

The army said it tracked the movements of trafficking gangs in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley before staging the raid. The area, where Hezbollah has strongholds, has been known for years as a centre of Captagon production.

Updated:

November 01, 2026, 2:02 PM