A shipment of cocaine with a semi-gross weight of 46.7 kilograms was intercepted at Beirut airport on the night of 31 October 2026. The Customs communiqué, reproduced by Ad Diyar and Al Jumhouria in their 2 November editions, reports the arrest of a Syrian traveller from Accra, Ghana. Investigations are now seeking to identify recipients, senders and other persons involved.
The suspect, identified by initials B.H., was travelling on flight MEA 576. The operation was carried out through coordination between Customs and General Security. The services had initiated surveillance prior to the baggage search. The arrest and seizure are the first reported results of the investigation, conducted under the supervision of the competent court.
Forty packagings and tracking devices
The drug was distributed in forty packages. According to Customs, the packaging consisted of several layers intended to conceal the contents and complicate its detection by the control devices. Electronic tracking devices were also discovered in the packages.
These factors led the investigators to examine the hypothesis of organized transport. The reconstructed preliminary journey includes an entry to Lebanon by Masnaa a few weeks earlier, followed by a departure to Accra and a return with the cargo. The services seek, among other things, the person who was to receive the packages at the agreed location.
This path remains the one described at the beginning of the investigations. It is not enough to determine all the responsibilities or to establish the participation of each person who is likely to be sought. The arrested traveller was not presented as convicted in the published information.
Weight input, distinct from resale estimates
The detailed release gives a « semi-gross » weight of 46,700 kilograms, or 46.7 kilograms. This figure should not be confused with a net weight of pure substance. The 40 units correspond to the number of packages seized.
Newspapers do not present all the figures in the same way. Al Joumhouria reports that Nawaf Salam praised the 47-kilogram interception, a round about the detailed measure. In Ad Diyar, the introduction mentions 40 kilograms, while the reproduced communiqué indicates 46.7 kilograms. In order to describe the seizure, the detailed customs measure remains the explicit reference.
No estimate of the quantity after preparation for resale is required to measure the transaction. The intercepted weight, packaging and initial findings are distinct elements of a possible commercial evaluation.
Authorities insist on cooperation between services
Nawaf Salam congratulated the General Security and Customs for their coordination and exchange of information. The Prime Minister stated that Lebanese land, sea and air crossings should not be used for drug trafficking, money laundering or other illegal activities. He announced further strengthening of controls and cooperation against smuggling networks.
Yassine Jaber also praised customs work. In the words taken up by Al Binaa on 2 November, the Minister of Finance insists on the techniques of concealment used and on the need to exchange information between administrations. It links border control with the protection of citizens and Lebanon’s reputation.
The case is presented by Customs as the largest drug seizure in the history of the airport. This qualification belongs to the press release. Beyond its scope, the decisive stage of the investigation is now to go up the transport chain and identify those waiting for delivery.
Sources
Ad Diyar, November 2, 2026, page 3; Al Joumhouria, 2 November 2026, page 3; Al Binaa, November 2, 2026, page 3.
Cover credit
Aerial view of Beirut Airport, March 28, 2008. Archive photo used to locate the place; it does not show the seizure of 31 October 2026. Photo: Ian Lim / Wikimedia Commons — GFDL 1.2 only.Original source. Resized whole photograph, without cropping or retouching; editorial banners added out of photography.
Photograph: Ian Lim, Aerial view of Beirut Airport, March 28, 2008. Permission to copy, distribute and/or modify under GNU Free Documentation License, version 1.2 only; no invariant sections, no first or fourth cover text. Editorial composition Libnanews: distributed under the same conditions. Full license text attached.Full text of the GNU FDL 1.2 license (PDF).
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