A Madera pharmacist pleaded guilty on Monday to trafficking hundreds of thousands of opiate pills.
Ifeanyi Vincent Ntukogu, 49, and Kelo White, 43 – both residents of Fresno – entered their guilty pleas to conspiring to distribute and distributing oxycodone and hydrocodone.
Driving the news: Court records show that Ntugo, a pharmacist in Madera, dispensed over 200,000 oxycodone and hydrocodone pills based on prescriptions delivered to him by White and co-Defendant Donald Ray Pierre, 55.
- They knew the pills were forged and fraudulent.
- Ntukogu reviewed the prescriptions and rejected the ones that he believed regulators would deem suspicious.
- Ntukogu dispensed the pills through New Life Pharmacy and required cash payments from White and Pierre.
What we’re watching: Ntukogu and White are scheduled to be sentenced on Sep. 23 and face a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each charge.
- Pierre was previously convicted and sentenced to nine years and four months in prison.
