Why NACOC Let Cocaine Courier Fly To Lebanon – Controlled Delivery To Bust Entire Network
Story By: Deborah Adorsu
The Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) has explained why it allowed a Syrian national carrying about 40 kilograms of suspected cocaine to leave Ghana for Lebanon, saying it was part of a deliberate intelligence operation known as “controlled delivery.”
The suspect, identified only by initials B.H., was arrested on Saturday, October 31, 2026, at Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut after arriving from Accra on Middle East Airlines flight MEA 576 with the drugs concealed in two suitcases.
Lebanese Customs says the seizure was 46.7 kilograms packed in 40 concealed packages — the largest bust in the airport’s history.
In a statement signed by Acting Director of Public Affairs and International Relations, Francis Opoku Amoah, NACOC said on Sunday, November 2, that the arrest was the result of a coordinated operation between Ghanaian and Lebanese anti-narcotics authorities.
According to NACOC, allowing the shipment to travel was intentional:
Security analyst Richard Kumadoe, speaking in an interview, said controlled delivery is a globally accepted technique where law enforcement agents monitor a drug shipment they have already detected, rather than seizing it immediately.
The purpose, he explained, is to identify people at both ends of the supply chain — those who packaged and facilitated the movement in Ghana, and those meant to receive it in Lebanon.
Kumadoe said the suspect had been under full surveillance from the time he entered Ghana from Lebanon through the Masnaa border crossing weeks earlier, until his departure.
He said advanced scanning equipment at Kotoka International Airport would have easily detected the drugs, meaning authorities knowingly let it pass.
The cocaine was concealed with sophisticated insulation materials designed to evade scanners, and Lebanese authorities also found electronic tracking devices inside the packages.
NACOC says it is now actively hunting accomplices in Ghana and that more arrests are expected before December.
The Commission reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring Ghana does not become a safe haven or transit point for international drug trafficking organizations.
Critics who accused NACOC of negligence have been urged to read the statement — NACOC insists the Beirut arrest would not have been possible without letting the courier fly.