Yellowknife man gets 160 days in jail for large scale drug operation

One of the nine people arrested in a massive drug bust in Yellowknife last year has pleaded guilty.

• RCMP charge 9 people with drug trafficking following Yellowknife busts

• Yellowknife RCMP charge 11 after months-long drug investigation

Lindsay Rocher, 30, was sentenced in January to 160 days in jail. RCMP conducted a string of raids last year in a large-scale investigation called Project Green Manalishi, seizing a large amount of drugs, firearms, vehicles and cash.

Police were targeting people in the Northwest Territories and Alberta and were authorized to intercept telephone conversations and messages.

"Although Mr. Rocher was not the primary target of this investigation, his activities were on a scale sufficiently large to justify police intervention," Judge Christine Gagnon said in her written decision.

Among other drug paraphernalia found in Rocher's home and vehicle, RCMP found glass vials containing cocaine, fentanyl and cannabis, a shotgun and rifle, three Tasers, 60 oxycodone pills,11 cell phones, and more than $11,000 cash "hidden in a kitchen appliance."

Rocher, who's from Yellowknife, pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking, careless storage of a firearm, and unauthorized possession of prohibited weapons (the Tasers).

Several of the other people arrested last April are due in court in June for preliminary inquiries, which will determine if there's enough evidence to send them to trial.