Nanaimo RCMP say these items we seized from the truck Roger Ian Der was driving during a June 13, 2024 south Nanaimo traffic stop. (Image Credit: Nanaimo RCMP)

By Ian Holmes

guilty pleas

Nanaimo drug trafficker faces 9-year prison sentence

Mar 19, 2026 | 5:39 AM

NANAIMO — A prolific offender is scheduled to be sentenced later this year after entering guilty pleas to nine criminal code charges, including serious drug trafficking offences.

Roger Ian Der, 46, pleaded guilty to several drug trafficking charges, a firearm offence, and multiple court-ordered breaches during an appearance last week at Nanaimo Law Courts.

A joint sentence recommendation has been arranged between Crown Counsel and Der’s lawyer, who will formally request a nine-year jail sentence.

The charges relate to offences between April and June 2024 in Nanaimo, culminating in a June 13, 2024 arrest in which Der was apprehended upon exiting his truck in the Nicol/Milton St. area, according to Nanaimo RCMP.

Der entered three separate guilty pleas to trafficking fentanyl, as well as singular counts for trafficking cocaine and methamphetamine.

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He’s scheduled to be formally sentenced in late August where a detailed account of his offending will be read into the public record.

Several charges will be dropped in exchange for the guilty pleas, Crown Counsel confirmed.

Der’s guilty pleas cancel a pending BC Supreme Court trial, while the case was transferred back to provincial court for sentencing.

The offender is currently locked up at Nanaimo Correctional Centre (NCC), where he is enrolled in the Guthrie Therapeutic Community within the institution.

Defence attorney Owen James said his client’s sentencing hearing is being arranged to accommodate Der’s rehabilitation efforts.

“He is indeed working on some schooling, and he wants to get that done. He’s benefitted tremendously and done very well at Guthrie House,” James said.

Pretrial custody time will reduce Der’s sentence.

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