diff --git a/data/ansible/deb_packages/main.yaml b/data/ansible/deb_packages/main.yaml
index 586d9afc0..b756e7619 100644
--- a/data/ansible/deb_packages/main.yaml
+++ b/data/ansible/deb_packages/main.yaml
@@ -208,6 +208,7 @@
           become: true
           ansible.builtin.file:
             path: /var/packages/debian/incoming
+            state: absent
 
         - name: Check for leftover package files
           ansible.builtin.find: