Territorial court judge John Faulkner handed down the sentence to Matthew Truesdale, accepting the joint submission made by the Crown and the defence.

Project Monolith relied on a drug dealer-turned-informant to bust a major drug trafficking ring in the Yukon.

Truesdale supplied the informant with 1.7 kilograms of cocaine.

He pleaded guilty to trafficking cocaine last Nov. 25. Crown prosecutor Eric Marcoux told the judge the guilty pleas spared the justice system a long, costly trial.

On top of various pre-trial motions challenging the admissibility of evidence in court, six weeks had been booked for the trial.

It would have required the informant to testify.

The man, who can’t be identified because of a publication ban, was placed in the witness protection program when he testified in another case.

His testimony would have required extensive security measures, Marcoux said.

The prosecutor also listed the sentences some of Truesdale’s co-accused received to justify the 3 1/2-year submission.

Kuntoniah Graham was sentenced to 2 1/2 years for a similar amount of cocaine trafficked, but he didn’t have a criminal record.

Jesse Ritchie was sentenced to five years and seven months, but he was one of the “higher ups”, and supplied more than $400,000 worth of drugs to the informant.

With time Truesdale has already served, he has two years and eight months left to serve. Truesdale’s lawyer, Doug Jevning, detailed his client’s behaviour since he’s been on bail.

He works and is in a relationship.

Once released from jail, he’ll have a job waiting for him.

“He has moved far away from previous relationships and influences,” Jevning said.

The Vancouver-born man is one year into an electrician apprenticeship at the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

During his time in the federal penitentiary, he will work toward completing his Grade 12 education.

Jevning filed several letters of support to the court from co-workers and a woman with whom he has a relationship.

They all expressed shock upon learning of the crimes Truesdale had committed.

That reflects on how dedicated he is to rehabilitation, his lawyer said.

Faulkner took issue with Truesdale’s crimes being characterized as “poor choices.”

“It’s a serious crime … one of the most serious problems society is facing,” he said.

Project Monolith started in August 2013.

It ended in November of that year with dozens of arrests and the seizures of drugs and weapons.

It was conducted by the RCMP “M” federal investigation unit, which focuses on organized crime.

The force called the operation “one of the most significant organized crime investigations in the territory to date,” at the time.

Truesdale will be prohibited from possessing a firearm for 10 years.

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

Asif Aslam, who also pleaded guilty to trafficking cocaine in November 2015, had been scheduled to be sentenced alongside Truesdale.

That, however, was adjourned to late April.

His lawyer couldn’t be there because a case he was arguing before the Supreme Court of Canada had been rescheduled.

By PIERRE CHAUVIN Star Reporter