BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – A Burlington School Board member charged with trafficking fentanyl is due in a Massachusetts courtroom on Thursday.
Rida Kori, 24, was arrested by Massachusetts State Police on Sept. 16 on Interstate 91 in Holyoke. Court documents show police searched his car and found cash and 3,000 envelopes — or 86 grams — of suspected heroin or fentanyl in a safe in the trunk.
Kori was elected to the Burlington School Board on Town Meeting Day in March. Four months later he was on the radar of drug investigators.
Authorities say they became aware of Kori when his vehicle was spotted near a hotel in Enfield, Connecticut, which was a known high drug trafficking area outside of Springfield, Mass.
During a candidate forum in February on Town Meeting TV, The Sudanese-born candidate said he largely grew up in Burlington. He was also a standout soccer player at Burlington High School before going on to play at Castleton and Division 1 school Central Connecticut State University. Kori’s twin brother, Ramzi, is currently serving time for an arrest in a 2022 case related to a drug and gun crime.
Kori’s lawyer told WCAX that he denies the charges and is looking forward to clearing his name of these allegations.