Photo by LCSO Timothy Sowell

Photo by LCSO Janis Mansfield

A North Platte couple was arrested Oct. 5 for selling prescription drugs.

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Timothy L. Sowell, 48, and Janis A. Mansfield, 44, both of 419 N. Silber, were each arrested for distribution of hydrocodone after a 9-month police investigation.

Each could face a maximum 20-years imprisonment if convicted. They are being held in the Lincoln County Jail on bonds of $50,000.

A North Platte police spokesman said the investigation began in January with the help of a confidential informant. Undercover officers were able to purchase 38 hydrocodone pills from the couple Jan. 26 and again Feb. 23, the spokesman said.

The pills were sent to the Nebraska State Patrol Crime Lab in Lincoln for analysis, the spokesman said.

Hydrocodone is a cough suppressant and analgesic agent for the treatment of moderate to moderately severe pain, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency. Studies have shown that hydrocodone is as effective, or more effective, than codeine for cough suppression and nearly equal to morphine for pain relief.

Hydrocodone is the most frequently prescribed opiate in the United States with nearly 130 million prescriptions for hydrocodone-containing products dispensed in 2006. There are several hundred brand name and generic hydrocodone products marketed and include brand names such as Vicodin, Lortab and Lorcet.

Hydrocodone is a Schedule II drug in the Control Substances Act.

The spokesman said a warrant for the arrest of Sowell and Mansfield was affected when the lab results were returned. Both were arrested Oct. 5 just before 11 a.m. They will likely be arraigned in court Tuesday.