For all those who were shocked and surprised to hear Chilliwack’s cocaine-dealing gangster Clayton Eheler got bail in the summer, they will be equally unsurprised to hear he’s back in custody.
Eheler, 39, is charged with commission of an offence for a criminal organization related to an alleged offence on May 1, 2021 in Chilliwack, Hope and Kamloops.
That charge came on the heels of his conviction of drug trafficking from 2014 for which he is waiting a new trial after a successful bid at the B.C. Court of Appeal.
On July 28, 2022, a provincial court judge in Surrey granted Eheler bail despite the fact that the last time he was out on bail in 2019, he was issued a fraudulent passport in his cousin Tyler Van Basten’s name.
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Facial recognition software used by Global Affairs Canada led to the identification of Eheler as the man in the photo with the passport under Van Basten’s name.
Also charged on the 2021 file is Blair Robert Anders Smith, 59, of Merritt who is facing one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking, and Van Basten, 30, of Chilliwack who is also charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking as well as conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.
On the 2014 file, Eheler and Mathew Thiessen were convicted after they were caught processing nine kilograms of cocaine with cutting agents in a Chilliwack condo on Nov. 18, 2014. The convictions were overturned on appeal due to a long delay in the sentencing judge releasing his written reasons for rejecting a charter application.
Most recently, Eheler, who is representing himself in court, was put on some of the strictest bail conditions available. He was under house arrest for 24 hours a day at an address in Chilliwack. He was under electronic monitoring and could only leave the residence with written permission from his bail supervisor, and only for employment or “compelling reasons” such as a medical emergency.
He was not allowed to have any visitors except a short list of named individuals. And Eheler is also not allowed to be within 100 metres of the U.S. border unless with written permission, and he is not allowed to be within two kilometres of any airport. He was also not allowed to download any encrypted messaging apps, such as Signal.
It’s unclear what he is accused of doing to have his bail revoked, but according to a source and confirmed on Court Services Online, he is now back in custody and had his most recent court appearance on Friday (Oct. 21). He is next due in court Oct. 25.
Van Basten and Smith are next due in court Nov. 8.
READ MORE: Bail hearing set for Chilliwack gangster and cocaine trafficker Clayton Eheler
READ MORE: New trial dates set for high-level Chilliwack drug trafficker whose conviction was overturned
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