A months-long undercover operation by the RCMP culminated this week in a Whitehorse man receiving a conditional sentence for cocaine trafficking and possession.

Confidential sources led police to begin investigating Joshua Manning, 22, in January 2012.

Between March and July of that year, plainclothes officers purchased 46 grams of cocaine for a total of $5,100 in about seven transactions with Manning.

Most purchases from the "street-level dealer” ranged from one to 3.5 grams, although one transaction was for one ounce of cocaine, or 28 grams, said new territorial court Judge Peter Chisholm.

Police raided Manning's home in July 2012. They found 11 grams of cocaine under his bed and 11 more above the fridge.

The second stash belonged to his dealer, who had just visited the residence, the judge said.

On Thursday, the judge handed down the 18-month sentence, to be served in the community, following Manning's guilty plea to two counts of drug trafficking and one of drug possession with intent to traffic.

"Drug traffickers create untold danger in the communities in which they operate,” Chisholm said, citing territorial court Judge Michael Cozens.

"Families can be torn apart due to the addiction itself or to the resultant violence.”

Chisholm noted the possibility of prenatal harm as well as the insidious threat narcotics can pose to communities.

Manning appeared relieved with the sentence and almost grateful for being caught, saying the three months he spent in jail allowed him to sober up.

"I feel like I have a chance now to move on with my life,” Manning told the Star after the decision.

"All this seemed like a bad dream. I feel now like I have a second chance, and I plan to make the most of it.”

The terms of the conditional sentence — cut down to 18 months from 21 due to the three months he spent in remand custody — include a one-year house arrest with a curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Manning must also abstain from drugs and alcohol and abide by a mandatory 10-year firearms ban.

He cannot leave his home except for work, unless given written permission from a probation officer.

Chisholm said "his rehabilitative prospects are positive,” and that the sentence would serve as "denunciation, deterrence and rehabilitation.”

The judge noted Manning had suffered from some addiction issues but performed well on bail.

He participated in one-on-one counselling and Narcotics Anonymous and completed the first year of a Yukon College carpentry course.

Manning now works as a carpenter with two companies in Whitehorse and has also founded his own business.

Manning had no prior criminal record.

Born in Nova Scotia, he moved to Whitehorse at age 15.

He was raised in a somewhat dysfunctional environment, as his father suffered from substance abuse problems, the judge said.

In Whitehorse, "his peer group was involved in alcohol and drugs,” Chisholm said.

Though he had smoked marijuana back east, Manning moved on to more serious drugs like ecstasy and cocaine around the age of 18, developing an addiction to cocaine, which he says he has now kicked.

The judge stayed several other drug-related charges.