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A man is on the hook for a $14,000 fine after pleading guilty to illegal selling and possession of fish without a proper licence in northeast Alberta.

Keenan Charland, 43, was handed the fine after pleading guilty in Cold Lake provincial court last Tuesday to three counts of illegally selling fish, and one count of unlawful fish possession.

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Charland was one of six people charged when undercover officers tackled what was alleged to be an illegal fish trafficking ring. In total, the suspects faced 41 charges for offences that included the unlawful sale and possession of fish including walleye, lake trout and lake whitefish, police said.

Charland was originally facing four additional unlawful fish possession charges. According to provincial court records, all of Charland’s alleged and admitted offences happened between March 2015 and April 2016, at or near Cold Lake, about 280 km northeast of Edmonton.