Edmonton man sentenced to 5 years prison for cocaine trafficking in Yellowknife
Police found Zein Mikaeel Gova with over 112 grams of cocaine in May 2023
An Edmonton man who sold cocaine from the home of two Yellowknife parents and their children has been sentenced to five years in prison.
Zein Michkaeel Gova pleaded guilty in N.W.T. Supreme Court earlier this week to the possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and to illegally carrying loaded semi-automatic pistol.
Justice Shannon Smallwood delivered Gova's sentence on Thursday. It is the same sentence jointly recommended by the Crown and defence lawyers.
According to an agreed statement of facts, on May 30, 2023, someone texted an RCMP officer offering to sell cocaine. The officer knew the dealer was operating out of an apartment in Yellowknife's Garden Townhomes complex where two people with children were living.
The officer reported this to Child and Family Services, and RCMP officers accompanied a child welfare worker to the residence. According to the statement of facts, police found Gova upstairs, in a room with scales and cash. Police also found two packages of crack cocaine in a satchel bag he was carrying, and a loaded semi-automatic pistol strapped close to his ankle.
The officers later got a warrant to search the home, where they found more cocaine and another drug which is commonly used to dilute cocaine for more profitable sales.
In total, Gova was found to be in possession of 112 grams of cocaine.
In her sentencing decision, Justice Smallwood emphasized the seriousness of Gova's offence.
Smallwood said drug dealers who come to the N.W.T. from southern jurisdictions should be condemned for "prey[ing] on the vulnerable" and exploiting the trauma of others for profit.
Gova has been in custody since he was arrested in May 2023. With credit for the time he served in jail while on remand, he has a little over two years remaining in his sentence.
He will serve his prison sentence in Alberta, where he has some family members living.
Gova will also be prohibited from carrying firearms for 10 years after he is released from prison.