The Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) has arrested three foreign nationals in connection with a 46.7-kilogramme cocaine consignment seized at Lebanon’s main international airport, authorities said.
The suspects, identified as Syrian, Tunisian and Lebanese nationals, were arrested in separate intelligence-led operations on Tuesday, November 3, following information provided by Lebanese law enforcement authorities.
Two of the suspects, a man and a woman, were arrested in Accra, while the third was apprehended in a separate operation, according to sources.
The arrests form part of investigations by Ghanaian and Lebanese security agencies to identify individuals suspected of facilitating the shipment and establish their links to a wider international drug trafficking network.
The development follows the arrest of a Syrian national at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport on Saturday, October 31, after he arrived from Accra aboard a Middle East Airlines flight.
Lebanese Customs officials said a search of his two pieces of luggage uncovered 40 packages containing 46.7 kilogrammes of cocaine.
The drugs had been concealed using sophisticated packaging and insulation materials designed to evade detection by scanning equipment. Electronic tracking devices were also reportedly found among the packages.
Lebanese authorities described the seizure as the largest drug bust in the airport’s history.
Preliminary investigations indicated that the suspect had entered Lebanon through the Masnaa border crossing from Syria several weeks earlier before travelling to Accra and subsequently returning to Beirut with the cocaine consignment.
NACOC said the operation in Beirut was part of a coordinated controlled-delivery exercise conducted with Lebanese drug enforcement authorities.
The operation was designed to identify and apprehend individuals at both ends of the suspected drug supply chain while gathering intelligence to dismantle the wider transnational criminal network.
The latest arrests underscore ongoing cooperation between Ghanaian and Lebanese authorities in tackling international drug trafficking.
