Beirut airport makes its biggest-ever cocaine seizure

Lebanese customs, working with General Security, foiled a major smuggling attempt on Saturday at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport, seizing 46.7 kilos of cocaine, the largest drug bust in the airport’s history, French-language daily L’Orient-Le Jour reported.

The drugs were found in the luggage of a Syrian passenger, identified only by his initials B.H., who had arrived from Accra, Ghana, aboard Middle East Airlines flight 576.

According to customs, the cocaine was split into 40 packages hidden with sophisticated packaging and insulation materials designed to evade scanners. Electronic tracking devices were also found inside the packages.

Preliminary investigations showed the suspect had entered Lebanon several weeks earlier through the Masnaa crossing on the Syrian border, before travelling to Accra and returning with the shipment. 

Investigators believe he was acting as a courier for an organised smuggling ring. He has been arrested, and authorities are now trying to identify the intended recipient.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam praised the coordination between the two agencies, vowing that Lebanon’s land, sea and air borders “will not serve as transit routes for drug trafficking, money laundering or any other illegal activity.”

A growing concern

The seizure is the latest in a string of busts. In August, police arrested a Lebanese man arriving from Brazil with 4.9 kilos of cocaine hidden in two suitcases. A month earlier, customs seized 3.5 tonnes of narcotics at Beirut port, reportedly bound for an African country.

The Lebanese authorities say they are stepping up border controls and sharing intelligence with several countries to keep the airport and port from becoming smuggling hubs.