Mexicans jail their marijuana granny

The school children called her little granny. The media have dubbed her "the narco-granny". She is 82 and will not be selling marijuana to children for a while, as she is in jail.

Sofia Garcia could be 87 before she leaves Topo Chico federal prison in Monterrey, in the north of Mexico. The federal prosecutor's office said that while it was normally lenient with old people it was making an exception in this case because of the seriousness of the offence.

Garcia was jailed without bail while awaiting sentence for "crimes against the public health". Police stumbled upon her after a raid aimed at a multi-million dollar cocaine and firearms ring. As they waited to pounce on this gang outside Monterrey station they were distracted by the smell of marijuana from secondary schoolchildren on a platform.

The pupils, aged between 13 and 17, said they had bought their palomitas, or joints, from a woman they called abuelita (little granny).

"I'm a poor woman. My husband is sick. I've been selling marijuana all my life. I have to do this to eat," she said as she was handcuffed and taken away to the astonishment of neighbours. The children said they had paid her 10 pesos (about pounds 1) for a cigarette. Garcia has so far refused to say where she bought the drugs. Monterrey is a haven for drug cartels. One of the FBI's 10 most wanted men, Juan Garcia Abrego, was arrested near the city last year.