diff --git a/ecs/bin/ejabberdctl b/ecs/bin/ejabberdctl
index cb9a24f..a1dccec 100755
--- a/ecs/bin/ejabberdctl
+++ b/ecs/bin/ejabberdctl
@@ -238,7 +238,7 @@ check_start()
         }
         "$EPMD" -kill >/dev/null
     }
-    cp "$HOME_DIR/lib/ejabberd-*/priv/sql/*" "$HOME_DIR/database/"
+    cp "$HOME_DIR"/lib/ejabberd-*/priv/sql/* "$HOME_DIR/database/"
 }
 
 # allow sync calls