A convicted drug dealer has been sentenced to eight years in prison for two large drug busts in the Grande Prairie area. Khristopher Ali was handed his sentence on February 12th as part of a deal made for both of his arrests. He was given credit for 1.6 years time served.
Ali was first taken into custody by the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams in September 2017, when he was found with 1.3 kilograms of powder and crack cocaine, 573 grams of meth, 1,476 fentanyl pills. That seizure also included roughly 20 grams of marijuana, a Mercedes-Benz SUV and almost $2,000 cash, and was considered the biggest in the city since 2014.
Then in January 2018, Ali was pulled over in Fairview with 370 grams of cocaine on him. A home was also searched, and in the end, more than $68,000 worth of several drugs, weapons, and cash were found.
At the time, ALERT said it was believed he had gone back to drug trafficking after he was released on bail. Inspector Sean Boser hopes Ali’s sentence sends a message.
“A prison sentence of this magnitude should serve as a strong deterrent to those involved in the drug trade, especially those who sell fentanyl.”
Also arrested with Ali in the September 2017 bust was Robert Kinnon, who was also charged with three counts of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking. He’ll next be in court on March 4th for summary disposition.
The co-accused in the Fairview bust were Riley Salmond and Rebecca Zwick. Salmond was sentenced on January 30th to 32 months in prison, less eight months credit for time served. Zwick’s charges were withdrawn.