Grand Forks drug trafficker to be sentenced in Castlegar

Admitted drug trafficker Ryan Plotnikoff will be sentenced in Castlegar next week, Grand Forks provincial court heard Tuesday, May 3.

Plotnikoff, 40, pleaded guilty to one count of federal drug trafficking in February, telling the court he’d intended to sell methamphetamine found on him by arresting Mounties in May 2019. He was due to be sentenced in Grand Forks Tuesday afternoon, but his hearing was adjourned because his defense counsel was unavailable.

Court documents show that Plotnikoff meanwhile faces a Motor Vehicle Act charge for allegedly driving on a suspended license in Midway, where the Crown alleges he fled police on March 18. He also faces nine criminal breaches of his release orders, alleged to have occurred separately in Grand Forks, Greenwood and Midway between last November and March.

Plotnikoff is further charged with motor vehicle theft, possession of stolen property and possession of a break-in instrument, stemming from alleged offenses in Langley, B.C. last March.

Judge Robert Brown ordered all these matters to be resolved at Plotnikoff’s rescheduled sentencing at Castlegar on Tuesday, May 11.

@ltritsch1 laurie.tritschler@grandforksgazette.caLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.