Two suitcases, 40 kilos of cocaine and a $3,000 payoff: Inside Beirut...

3^min

Report by Wissam Nasrallah, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian

The biggest drug bust in Beirut airport’s history. That is how Lebanese customs described the seizure. But the story begins at the Masnaa border crossing.

On Oct. 23, Syrian passenger B.H. legally entered Lebanon by land through the Masnaa border crossing. He left the country by air the same day through Beirut airport, heading to Accra, the capital of Ghana.

Eight days later, he returned to the same airport carrying two suitcases containing drugs. This time, however, Lebanese security agencies had been tracking his movements since his departure from Ghana, based on intelligence they had received.

What happened in Accra?

According to Lebanese customs sources who spoke to LBCI, the passenger is suspected of having paid a bribe at Accra airport to facilitate the passage of his two suitcases.

The sources said Brig. Gen. Misbah Khalil, head of the Higher Customs Council, contacted Ghanaian security and customs authorities, and the two sides exchanged information to uncover the smuggling network, trace its route, and identify those involved in both countries.

Lebanese customs and General Security had been monitoring the passenger’s movements since he departed Ghana aboard Middle East Airlines flight MEA 576.

At around 8 p.m. on Saturday, the plane landed in Beirut. B.H. disembarked and headed to the baggage claim area. General Security surveillance officers monitored him until he collected his two suitcases. Both bags were then opened at the customs checkpoint.

Inside were 40 packages of cocaine, concealed using packaging methods designed to prevent detection by scanning equipment. Inspectors also found AirTag tracking devices inside the packages.

According to General Security, the shipment contained 40 kilograms of cocaine, with each package weighing 1 kilogram.

The customs figure of 46.7 kilograms, meanwhile, includes the inner packaging of the packages. This is what is meant by gross weight.

Customs described the operation as the largest drug bust in the history of Rafic Hariri International Airport. However, in December 2025, the same directorate announced the seizure of around 70 kilograms of cocaine that had also arrived from Ghana.

The difference was that the drugs had entered Lebanon through air freight as part of a 600-kilogram shipment declared as coconut oil. This time, the cocaine was found in the luggage of a single passenger.

What would have happened if the two suitcases had made it out of the airport?

According to Lebanese customs sources, B.H. was supposed to contact someone outside the airport and hand over the shipment. He was to be paid $3,000 for the task.

The man carrying the suitcases was arrested, but the identity of the person he was supposed to contact remains unknown. Under judicial supervision, investigations are ongoing to determine who was supposed to receive the shipment in Lebanon and who sent it from Ghana.