Lebanese authorities have arrested two Nigerians in Beirut for allegedly smuggling 156 capsules of cocaine valued at over $500,000. The suspects, identified only as R.A., 29, and L.N., 48, were apprehended in July at a hotel in the Kesrouan district, north of the Lebanese capital, after allegedly ingesting the narcotics to evade detection.
According to Lebanese news outlet L’Orient Today, the arrests were carried out by the country’s Central Bureau for Drug Control as part of an investigation into an “international organisation recruiting people to deliver cocaine to Lebanon.” Officials revealed that the smuggling route originated in Nigeria, transited through Ethiopia, and ended in Lebanon. The Internal Security Forces (ISF) said the two men landed at Beirut’s international airport at dawn on July 24, 2025, and headed straight to the hotel to extract the swallowed capsules for delivery to a local dealer.
Investigators, who had been monitoring their movements, moved in and arrested the suspects “in the act.” The ISF confirmed the seizure of 156 capsules of pure cocaine weighing approximately three kilograms, with an estimated street value of more than half a million U.S. dollars. Authorities noted that the bust followed a similar incident on May 22, when a man attempting to smuggle narcotics into Beirut from an African country was caught at the airport with drugs concealed both in his luggage and inside his body.
The arrests add to a growing list of Nigerians detained abroad for criminal offences ranging from drug trafficking to cyberfraud and human trafficking. In July, the Ghana Immigration Service confirmed the arrest of about 50 Nigerians during a coordinated raid in McCarthy Hills, Ga South Municipality of Accra, on suspicion of cybercrime and human trafficking. The landlord of the property where the suspects were found was also taken into custody.
Lebanese security agencies have vowed to intensify efforts to dismantle international drug smuggling networks, warning that those caught will face the full weight of the law. The detained Nigerians remain in custody as investigations continue.
