Police in Albetong are investigating circumstances under which a nursing officer was caught with stolen government drugs in his drug shop.

An operation was carried out on August 12, 2024, and the suspect, identified as Dicken Adung Opio, a nursing officer and a resident of corner Abako village in Awei Sub County, Albetong district, was nabbed.

According to preliminary investigations, Opio was arrested after Deputy Resident District Commissioner Gilbert Okello was tipped by a whistleblower about Opio’s mischief’s.

During an interview on August 15, 2024, the North Kyoga Regional Police Public Relations Officer, SP Jimmy Patrick Okema, revealed that Opio was arrested after Albetong Deputy RDC Okello reported him at Awei Police Station.

SP Okema added that Okello was given two officers who went to Opio’s drug store; a search was conducted, and empty boxes, drugs, and other items labelled ”Government of Uganda” were found in his drugstore and taken to Albetong Police Station.

The stolen items that were recovered by police include a buffer testing strip, an HCG strip, an empty malaria testing strip, a urinary bag labelled UG, and Coartem tablets labelled “not for sale.”

“We want to thank the whistleblower and the quick actions of the Assistant and Deputy RDC of Alebtong, who received the information and acted as required because if it were not for them, this operation would not have been successful and the stolen drugs would not be recovered,’’ SP Okema disclosed.

Okema revealed that the District Health Officer of Albetong district was called to the police station, and he verified that all the recovered items were from the government.

He added that Opio’s file has been opened and forwarded to the Resident City State Attorney for review and legal advice.

Okema disclosed that further investigations are currently going to be conducted to ascertain how these drugs ended up in Opio’s drugstore, and all exhibits collected from Opio’s drugstore are at Albetong Central Police Station.