A Syrian national has been busted in Lebanon after arriving from Ghana with 40 kilogrammes of suspected cocaine concealed in two bags at Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport.
Reports suggest the suspect was apprehended shortly after arriving on a flight from Accra International Airport, following what reports describe as surveillance that began before he departed from Ghana and continued until he arrived in Lebanon.
According to reports, officers from Lebanon’s General Security monitored the passenger from the moment he disembarked from the aircraft until he collected his two bags.
The officers subsequently coordinated with Customs officials to conduct a search, which led to the discovery of 40 boxes containing cocaine, with each box weighing approximately one kilogramme.
Electronic tracking devices, identified as AirTags, were also reportedly found fitted within the packages.
The Syrian national was arrested, while the suspected cocaine was seized and taken into custody.
Meanwhile, investigations are ongoing to establish further details surrounding the attempted smuggling and the possible involvement of other persons.
In other news, Ghana has been ranked the fifth-largest country of origin for cocaine seized at the port of Antwerp in Belgium in 2025.
According to Belgian customs figures, Ghana was the only African country on a list which made up of Latin American producers and transit states.
Reports by JoyNews Research detailed that “Belgian customs seized nearly 55 tonnes of cocaine at Antwerp last year, 24 per cent more than the 44 tonnes seized in 2024. Belgium’s Finance Minister, Jan Jambon, presented the figures on 21 January 2026. Ecuador, Costa Rica, Brazil and Colombia made up the rest of the top five, according to the breakdown reported by VRT, Belgium’s public broadcaster. VRT described Ghana as “de vreemde eend in de bijt”, the odd one out”.
“Antwerp is the main entry point for cocaine into Europe, and Belgian customs describe Belgium as the continent’s most important destination for cocaine shipped by sea. In customs figures, “country of origin” means the country where a container was loaded and shipped from, not where the drug was produced. None of the cocaine is grown in Ghana. It comes from the Andes and is hidden in legitimate Ghanaian exports.
Ghana’s ranking reflects a run of large seizures at Antwerp on cargo from Tema. In late November 2025, Belgian authorities found 2,829 kilogrammes of cocaine concealed in cassava flour shipped from Tema. In December, a further 1,158 kilogrammes of suspected cocaine were found in a shipment from Ghana. Together the two seizures come to about 4 tonnes, roughly 7 per cent of all the cocaine seized at the port in 2025.
Ghana’s appearance on the list is new. A major 2022 analysis of Europe’s cocaine market by the European Union’s drugs agency and Europol named Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Benin, Sierra Leone and The Gambia as West African countries linked to large seizures. It did not mention Ghana.
The Belgian figures are part of a wider pattern of seizures abroad traced to Ghanaian ports”, the JoyNews report detailed.
@ghnow_ Actor Majid Michel arrives at the State House in Accra to pay his last respects to veteran actress Grace Nortey. #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ Media personality Berla Mundi arrives with her husband at the State House in Accra for the funeral ceremony of veteran actress Grace Nortey. #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – ∰𝗞~𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗛 𝗟𝗬𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗦∰
