Burlington School board member faces drug trafficking charges in Massachusetts court

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – A Burlington school board member charged with fentanyl trafficking is scheduled to appear in a Massachusetts court 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 drug enforcement radar.

Authorities said they became aware of Kori when his vehicle was spotted near a hotel in Enfield, Connecticut, a known high drug trafficking area outside of Springfield, Massachusetts.

During a February candidate forum on Town Meeting TV, the Sudanese-born candidate said he grew up mostly in Burlington. He was also a standout football player at Burlington High School before playing at Castleton and Division 1 school Central Connecticut State University. Kori's twin brother, Ramzi, is currently serving a prison sentence in a 2022 case related to a drug and weapons crime.

Kori's attorney told WCAX that he denies the allegations and looks forward to clearing his name of these allegations.

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