Beirut Airport Seizes Biggest Drug Shipment Ever
The General Directorate of Customs issued the following statement:
As part of efforts to strengthen operational coordination among security agencies, enhance information-sharing and step up field monitoring, the Customs Administration, in cooperation with the General Directorate of General Security, foiled a major drug-smuggling operation late on Saturday, October 31, 2026. Described as the largest drug seizure in the history of Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport, the operation resulted in the confiscation of 46.7 kilograms of cocaine from a Syrian passenger identified by the initials “B.H.”, who arrived from Accra, Ghana, aboard Middle East Airlines flight MEA 576.
The seizure followed security monitoring and surveillance, followed by coordinated field operations at the customs checkpoint. The passenger’s luggage was searched, leading to the discovery of 40 packages of cocaine concealed using sophisticated methods and complex layers of packaging and insulation designed to evade detection by screening equipment. Electronic tracking devices were also found inside the packages.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect had entered Lebanon through the Masnaa border crossing several weeks earlier, before travelling to Accra and returning with the seized shipment. This suggests that he had been assigned to transport and deliver the drugs as part of an organized smuggling operation.
The suspect was arrested, and the drugs and other seized items were confiscated. Customs, in coordination with General Security and under the supervision of the competent judicial authorities, is continuing its investigations and surveillance to identify the person who was due to receive the shipment at a designated location, uncover those behind its dispatch, transportation and receipt, and identify and pursue all other individuals involved.
The General Directorate of Customs stressed that the size of the shipment, the sophisticated concealment methods and the use of electronic tracking devices highlight the seriousness of the operation and the level of preparation involved. It reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining round-the-clock surveillance, inspection and anti-smuggling measures in cooperation with the relevant agencies, in order to prevent drugs from entering the country and protect society from their dangers.
