A 28-year-old Whitehorse man was sentenced to 15 months in jail on Wednesday for his role in a drug trafficking operation that was busted by RCMP earlier this year.

Shaun Naidu pleaded guilty in Yukon territorial court to one count of trafficking ecstasy and a breach of probation charge. Two other charges against him — trafficking anabolic steroids and possessing property obtained by crime — were stayed.

Naidu is the first of five men to be convicted under Project Macer, a four-month undercover RCMP investigation targeting a group that transported cocaine from Surrey, B.C., to Whitehorse.

The four other men arrested from Project Macer will go to trial next year.

Extra security was in place at the Whitehorse courthouse on Wednesday, as an undercover police agent was scheduled to testify against Naidu. But after a brief discussion, lawyers agreed that Naidu would plead guilty to the charges.

Court was told that the agent, a former Whitehorse drug dealer, was enlisted by police to buy large amounts of ecstasy pills from Naidu on two occasions.

When police raided the five suspects' homes in September, they seized large amounts of cocaine and ecstasy, along with a total $150,000 in cash.

Naidu told the court about $2,700 that was taken from his home was not drug money, but cash he had earned legitimately from his pitbull-breeding business.

Naidu also complained in court about the treatment he received at the Whitehorse Correctional Centre over the past 77 days, saying he was unable to get medical help when he fell ill with the H1N1 influenza virus.

But in sentencing Naidu, Judge Karen Ruddy said his $2,700 in cash is forfeited and there is nothing she can do about his health problems.

Naidu received four months' credit for time served, leaving him with 11 months left in his jail term. His sentence also includes a lifetime ban on possessing weapons.

He told the court he is now trying to turn his life around by working early-morning shifts in the jail kitchen.