Bobby Shah and his Port Coquitlam companies were among 28 sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for alleged links to companies producing illicit drugs.
The RCMP’s specialized clandestine lab team has spent several days at the Maple Ridge property of a man sanctioned in the U.S. last year for allegedly selling precursor chemicals to organized criminals.
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Police arrived at the home of Bobby Shah in the 26500-block of 124 Avenue early in the week, according to area residents.
Blue plastic barrels could be seen in the large driveway of the $3 million house and police signs indicated the RCMP’s lab team was there.
Shah, also known as Bahman Djebelibak, has not been charged.
No one from the Maple Ridge RCMP detachment or the RCMP’s federal and serious organized crime unit responded to requests for information on Friday afternoon.
In October 2023, Shah and his Port Coquitlam companies, Valerian Labs and Valerian Labs Distribution Corp., were among 28 companies and individuals sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department, which alleged links to an international network of companies producing fentanyl and other illicit synthetic drugs.
Shah and Valerian were major customers of a Chinese company named Jinhu Minsheng Pharmaceutical Machinery that sold pill-press machines with “pharmaceutical imprints on ecommerce platforms and has provided pill dies for counterfeit oxycodone M30 tablets,” an U.S. news release said.
“Valerian Labs Inc. has received shipments of methylamine hydrochloride, which is a precursor chemical used to produce methamphetamine and MDMA. Valerian Labs Distribution Corp. has tried to procure 2,000 litres of chloroform, 800 litres of dichloromethane and 200 kilograms of iodine, substances used in the production of fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine,” the news release said.
Within days of the U.S. announcement, Health Canada suspended Shah’s class B precursor registration, which he is now fighting in Federal Court to have returned.
His lawyer said in a Sept. 10 application for a judicial review that Shah had provided evidence he was producing legitimate “vitamin power health products” and that it was unfair to cite “a foreign press release that contains no evidence to corroborate the claims made within.”
The clandestine lab team was also at Shah’s Port Coquitlam business this week. On Saturday, Postmedia observed barrels of chemicals outside of Valerian Labs at 1971 Broadway St.
In October, Postmedia also saw unsecured chemicals outside the unit.
The blue barrels on site two months ago were labelled dichloromethane — one of the chemicals listed by the U.S. Treasury. The label said it had come from a company in China.
There were also stacks of boxes outside addressed to Hollywood Vape Labs Inc., the original name of Shah’s company. Some of the boxes were labelled “Vitamin Power Box,” stating the product was made by another company in China.
Shah’s legal battle with Health Canada is not his only one. Last month, he filed a lawsuit against the B.C. Public Guardian and Trustee, alleging the public body was mishandling the estate of his estranged wife, Ramina.
Ramina Shah was stabbed to death in January 2022 in the parkade of her Coquitlam real estate office. No one has been charged in the killing.
In his Nov. 21 lawsuit filed on behalf of himself and his children, Shah alleges the provincial guardian “wrongfully assumed the role of administrator of the estate by misleading the court and other applicants during the grant application process.
“The defendant has caused the deterioration and evaluation (and complete loss of two out of three properties) … by failing to act in a timely and responsible manner.”
He alleged he and his ex-wife put a $50,000 deposit down for a presale condo in Maple Ridge and that the deposit has been lost. Another $749,000 was paid in a presale for two Oakridge condos, he said. And he said the guardian has listed the house of Ramina Shah for sale at less than the assessed value.
Shah has a number of B.C. convictions under the surname Djebelibak. He was convicted in 2003 of using counterfeit money and was sentenced to 18 months’ probation. In 2006, he was convicted of resisting a peace officer and sentenced to seven days in jail. In 2008, he was sentenced to seven months for the unauthorized use of a computer.