GRAND ISLAND, Neb. -- A meth-related conviction put a Grand Island man in prison for 15 1/2 years.

U.S. Attorney Steven Russell said 30-year-old Zakaria Hassan, of Grand Island, was sentenced in Lincoln on May 15. He was convicted for distribution of 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine. Hassan will serve 188 months in prison with a 10-year term of supervised release after. The sentence was enhanced due to Hassan's prior conviction for a serious drug felony. Hassan gave up his car and $17,533 cash to the government because the car and cash were proceeds of his drug dealing. There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court documents, Hassan sold 113 grams of meth to a cooperating witness in Grand Island in February 2021. The drugs were sent to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Forensic Services Bureau and they found at least 96 grams of pure meth.

Officials said Hassan supplied 85 grams meth to a cooperating witness in Grand Island in September 2021. Hassan was arrested in Lincoln after officers found meth in his pocket and in the engine compartment of his car in January 2022. Police found more drugs, paraphernalia, and $15,893 cash in Hassan's Grand Island home.

This case was investigated by the Lincoln Police Department, the Hall County Sheriff’s Office, and the Trident Drug Task Force, which is made up of officers from the Grand Island Police Department, Hall County Sheriff, Hastings Police Department, Adams County Sheriff, Kearney Police Department, Buffalo County Sheriff, Nebraska State Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.