Security analyst Richard Kumadoe revealed that Ghanaian authorities deliberately allowed a Syrian passenger, identified only as B.H., to exit the country for Lebanon as part of a controlled delivery operation aimed at locating and arresting other members of the drug‑trafficking network.
B.H. arrived in Accra aboard a Middle East Airlines flight and was later arrested at Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut after Lebanese Customs uncovered 40 packages of cocaine concealed in his luggage.
Speaking on Channel One Newsroom on Sunday, November 1, Kumadoe said Ghanaian and Lebanese authorities had agreed to let the suspect continue his journey so investigators could pursue other people linked to the shipment. “A decision was taken between Ghana and the Lebanese authorities deciding on which country has a higher interest in releasing the substance and the individual and it was decided that we needed to send him away without concern,” he said.
He described the operation as a controlled delivery with a tip‑off, suggesting the suspect’s departure was part of a coordinated intelligence effort rather than a failure by Ghanaian security agencies to detect the cocaine.
The suspect had been under surveillance, with his movements and activities monitored and documented from the time he arrived in Ghana until his departure. Kumadoe dismissed suggestions that the cocaine could have passed through airport security without the knowledge of local authorities, pointing to improvements in screening technology and cooperation among security agencies.
He added, “If you look at the advanced scanning machinery we have and the determination to enhance the search and seizure procedure, there was no way this one passed through that we didn’t know.”
The operation was intended to help investigators identify and arrest alleged accomplices in Ghana and across West Africa. The next phase will see authorities follow up on leads generated by the controlled delivery.
