A man who supplied more than $400,000 worth of cocaine and marijuana to a police agent will spend the next five years in a federal penitentiary.

Judge Donald Luther sentenced Jesse Ritchie to five years and seven months this morning in Yukon territorial court.

With credit for his time on remand, he will only have to serve five years.

The 35-year-old man is one of the six people arrested as part of the Yukon RCMP’s 2013 Operation Monolith.

Using a drug dealer turned informant, the ‘M’ Federal Investigation Unit was able to gather evidence on a major drug ring operating in the Yukon.

It culminated with a string of arrests and the seizure of large quantities of drugs and weapons in November 2013.

So far, four other men have been convicted, and Ritchie is the third one to be sentenced.

Ritchie was one of the “higher-ups,” Crown prosecutor Eric Marcoux told the court.

Last Nov. 23, Ritchie pleaded guilty to trafficking cocaine and marijuana.

That’s a significant mitigating factor, Marcoux noted, as it avoided a long and costly trial.

A total of eight weeks had been aside for the trial and an application by the accused.

On top of that, the informant would have had to testify, which would have required extensive additional security measures, the court heard.

The sentence was suggested in a joint submission by the Crown and defence.

Luther followed the submission, noting it falls within the range of sentences imposed for similar crimes.

On five occasions, Ritchie supplied drugs to the informant.

A publication ban prohibits disclosing any information that could identify him.

In total, Ritchie supplied three kilos of cocaine and a little under 40 kilos of marijuana.

His defence filed over half a dozen letters of support.

Friends, family and colleagues all wrote about Ritchie’s potential and how he has accepted responsibility for his crime.

Mark Jetté, Ritchie’s lawyer, highlighted his client’s “lifelong” involvement in sports.

In 1994, he played baseball for Team Canada and Team B.C.

Ritchie also played football and had a scholarship opportunity at Acadia University.

He has been working since he was granted bail 4 1/2 months ago.

His current employer stated in a support letter he had asked Ritchie several times whether he would quit crime altogether.

Being satisified with the answers, the employer feels he can trust him, and stated in the letter he is prepared to offer Ritchie a job upon his release.

Ritchie was arrested in a previous RCMP drug investigation, project Macer.

But his criminal record only includes a minor possession offence, his lawyer noted.

Ritchie came to the Yukon in 2005 and ran his own business.

Jetté told the judge than when requesting letters of support to Ritchie’s friends and family, he expressly indicated the crimes his client had pleaded guilty to and the times he was looking at.

“He is accepting responsibility and he is ready to put that behind him,” said Jetté.

“He told his friends what he had done without sugar-coating it, and that I can respect,” one of Ritchie’s friend wrote to the court.

The five-year sentence is a significant penalty but not excessive to the point it would crush any hope of rehabilitation, Jetté said.

Luther commented on the quantity and quality of letters of support filed for Ritchie.

“It’s fair to say you’ve already started the road to rehabilitation,” Luther said, adding that there is a realistic plan for after his release.

But he must remember drug trafficking is not a victimless crime, Luther said.

Unlike several drug traffickers he sentenced earlier this week, Luther noted, Ritchie had been in the Yukon for a while.

“The arrogance I described (previously) does not necessarily apply here,” he said.

“(But) it was still opportunistic to engage in such activities.”

On top of his time in prison, Ritchie received a 10-year firearm ban.

The judge allowed him to pay a $200-victim fine surcharge with time served in prison, concurrent to his sentence.

Luther asked Ritchie to stand up and tell the court in his own words he will not go back to drug trafficking.

“I promise this court, my families, and the victims ... that I won’t do it again,” Ritchie said.

He was taken in custody at the end of the hearing.