Accused drug trafficker Clayton Eheler appeared briefly in provincial court in Chilliwack Monday by video in advance of an upcoming bail hearing.
The 39-year-old’s bail hearing is set for June 30 in the Abbotsford Law Courts.
Eheler was most recently charged with commission of an offence for a criminal organization related to an alleged offence on May 1, 2021 in Chilliwack, Hope and Kamloops.
Also charged on the same file is Blair Robert Anders Smith, 59, of Merritt who is facing one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking, and Tyler Damien 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.
Van Basten is Eheler’s cousin.
RELATED: Eheler remains in custody after bail hearing
Eheler’s case was put over for a bail hearing on June 30 at the Abbotsford Law Courts.
Smith and Van Basten are next scheduled in Chilliwack provincial court on July 19, Smith for a bail hearing, Van Basten scheduled for arraignment, according to Court Services Online.
Eheler was also convicted of drug trafficking from a 2014 incident and is now awaiting a new trial after a successful bid at the B.C. Court of Appeal. In that file, Eheler and Mathew Thiessen were caught processing nine kilograms of cocaine with cutting agents in a Chilliwack condo on Nov. 18, 2014.
They were convicted but the convictions were overturned on appeal due to a long delay in the sentencing judge releasing his written reasons for rejecting a charter application.
In July 2019, a provincial court judge then revoked his bail after he was accused of acquiring a passport with his photo in Van Basten’s name.
The experienced gangster had used legal tactics to force multiple delays in the older case when the province’s anti-gang unit, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU-BC), started looking into the Chilliwack-based crime cell’s extensive drug distribution network.
Eheler was supposed to have been sentenced in June of 2019, but that was postponed after he fired his lawyer and brought on high-profile criminal lawyer Ken Beatch.
Before the successful appeal, he was finally convicted of cocaine trafficking and sentenced to more than eight years in prison in November 2019.
Eheler has an extensive criminal record with more than 40 convictions dating back to 1995. He has connections to the Hells Angels and is a former associate of the Bacon brothers.
RELATED: Bail revoked when passport application made in cousin’s name
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