Accused drug trafficker Clayton Archie Eheler was arrested on multiple criminal charges on Tuesday, March 22 in Langley by the Chilliwack RCMP crime reduction unit.

Court records show Eheler, who was an alleged member of a drug syndicate charged with dealing drugs in B.C.’s north, was to appear in Chilliwack court on Wednesday, March 23, on a charge of committing an offence for a criminal organization, and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence along with with two co-accused, Blaire Smith and Tyler Van Basten.

Both crimes were allegedly committed May 1, 2021, with Chilliwack, Hope, and Kamloops listed as the locations where the offence took place.

Eheler and his co-accused also faced charges of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking.

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Eheler, who has been described as a high-level illicit drug dealer across British Columbia for many years, was convicted of possession for the purpose of trafficking one year ago after a long, drawn-out trial.

That conviction was overturned in an August 27, 2021 judgement by three B.C. Court of Appeal judges, who ordered a new trial for Eheler, and co-accused Mathew Jordan Thiessen, in a unanimous decision that admitted new evidence tendered by the appellants, allowed their appeals and quashed the convictions.

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In June of 2018 Eheler’s younger brother, Zacharia Nicholli Cross, was shot to death in Chilliwack.

Cross was “known to police and associated to drug activity,” the Integrated Homicide Investigation team said.