Surrey, B.C., drug dealers admit role in supplying Yukon

Two B.C. men admitted at a Whitehorse court hearing Wednesday their role in supplying Yukon drug dealers.

Asif Aslam and Matthew Truesdale of Surrey, B.C., pleaded guilty to trafficking cocaine.

The two were arrested in November 2013 as part of a bust police called one of the most significant organized crime investigations in Yukon — "Operation Monolith."

Court heard this week that in 2013 Aslam and Truesdale 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.

Lawyers for Aslam and Truesdale planned to fight their charges by challenging the legality of evidence against them but instead worked out a plea bargain with Crown prosecutors.

They are free on bail conditions, with sentencing scheduled for March.

Their convictions are the third and fourth stemming from Operation Monolith.

Kuntoniah Graham, also known as Jimmy Graham, was convicted in early September of cocaine trafficking, and Jessie Ritchie was convicted earlier this week of cocaine and marijuana trafficking. None has been sentenced yet.

A trafficking charge against Jason McMillan, another Operation Monolith target, was dismissed in September but prosecutors are appealing that ruling.

Police say they are still pursuing a sixth suspect.