KEY POINTS
- Authorities in Lebanon have arrested two Nigerians involved in a drug smuggling case.
- Authorities seized 156 cocaine capsules worth over $500K.
- Investigation links suspects to a broader trafficking network.
Lebanese authorities have arrested two Nigerians in a high-stakes drug bust that exposed an alleged international cocaine smuggling network spanning Africa and the Middle East.
The pair, identified only as R.A., 29, and L.N., 48, were detained in late July inside a hotel in the Kesrouan district, north of Beirut, after allegedly ingesting and transporting 156 capsules of cocaine.
Officials estimate the haul weighed about three kilograms and carried a street value of more than $500,000.
Nigerians arrested in Lebanon drug smuggling case
According to Lebanon’s Central Bureau for Drug Control, the arrests followed weeks of surveillance.
The suspects are believed to have travelled from Nigeria through Ethiopia before arriving at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport at dawn on July 24.
Security officials allege they went straight to the hotel to extract the capsules and hand them over to a local dealer. The Internal Security Forces (ISF) said in a statement that investigators intervened and captured the suspects “in the act”.
Cocaine network spanned Nigeria to Lebanon
The bust was part of a broader investigation into an alleged drug trafficking group that recruits couriers to ferry cocaine into Lebanon.
In May, ISF officers made a similar seizure at the airport when a man arriving from an African country was found with narcotics hidden both in his luggage and inside his body.
The ISF said the July arrests yielded “156 capsules of pure cocaine”—one of the largest such seizures in recent months—underscoring the region’s growing vulnerability to transnational narcotics rings.
Nigerians arrested abroad for crimes on the rise
The case also highlights a troubling trend: an increasing number of Nigerians being detained overseas for offenses ranging from drug trafficking to cyberfraud.
Just last month, Ghanaian authorities arrested about 50 Nigerians in Accra during a coordinated crackdown on alleged online scams and human trafficking.
Lebanese officials have not disclosed whether the latest arrests will lead to wider charges against the suspected trafficking network. The two men remain in custody as investigations continue.
