B.C. drug dealer sentenced in Yukon to 3.5 years in prison

A B.C. man who admitted his role in supplying drugs to Yukon dealers was sentencedWednesday in Yukon territorial court to three and a half yearin a federal penitentiary.

Matthew Truesdaleof Courtenay, B.C.was arrested in November2013 as part ofa bust police calledone of the most significant organized crime investigations inYukon "Operation Monolith."

Truesdaleand Asif Aslam, also arrested in the bust,arranged to send 1.7 kilograms of cocaine to Yukon through a longtime Whitehorse drug dealer.That dealer had become a police agent not long before, and immediately turned the drugs over to police in Surrey, B.C.

Both Truesdale and Aslam pleaded guilty to trafficking cocaine, last November. Aslamis due tobe sentenced next month.

Truesdale's lawyer Doug Jevning submitted several letters to the court, from Truesdale's employer in B.C. and several friends. The letters express support for Truesdale, andsome say theconvicted drug dealer is not the man they know.

But Judge John Faulkner rejected a suggestion that Truesdale had simply made "poor choices," saying the crime was more serious than that.

Truesdale was given eight months credit for time served, meaning he'll spend another twoyears and 10 months in prison.