The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has recovered 636,600 bottles of codeine-based syrup worth N4.4 billion in street value at Port-Harcourt Port Complex, Onne, Rivers.

This is contained in a statement issued by agency spokesman Femi Babafemi on Sunday in Abuja.

Mr Babafemi said that the drugs were intercepted in shipments from India on December 9, 11 and 13.

He said the seizures were made during a joint examination of four containers by NDLEA officers, men of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and other security agencies at the port.

This, he said, was made possible following processed credible intelligence on the shipments by the NDLEA operatives.

“At the Port Harcourt Port Complex, Onne, Rivers state, no fewer than 636,600 bottles of codeine-based syrup worth N4.4billion in street value were intercepted in shipments from India,” he said.

Meanwhile, with the same vigour, Commands and formations of the agencies across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities to schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities, among others, in the past week.

Mr Babafemi named the places as WADA sensitisation lecture to students and staff of City Comprehensive College, Ogidi, Anambra, Government Secondary School, Toungo, Adamawa, Bonny Camp Primary School, Victoria Island, Lagos, and Government Junior Secondary School, Yarganji, Kano.

He added that the Oyo State command of NDLEA delivered a WADA enlightenment lecture to leaders, elders, youths and residents of Tapa, among others.

This, he said, was a continuous process by the agency to reduce, to the barest minimum, the dangers of illicit drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking across the country.

Mr Babafemi said NDLEA top boss Buba Marwa commended the officers and men of the Onne area of the agency for the arrests and seizures.

Marwa said that the operational successes should show the drug barons and cartels that the agency had the capacity and intelligence network to track their movements and their consignments even before getting to Nigeria.

He said the agency would continue to lose heavily if it failed to back down on the criminal trade.