Accused West Kelowna drug dealer denied bail

Photo: CrimeStoppers

Sanad Fuad Rayes

An alleged “mid-level drug dealer with connections to large amounts of illegal drugs” was denied bail earlier this year when a judge considered how his release would cast doubt on the courts.

West Kelowna's Sanad Fuad Rayes, 38, was detained due to his lengthly criminal history, the nature of his charges and the administration of justice, wrote judge Gregory Brown in a recently published decision.

“A reasonable informed member of the public who was aware of these serious allegations involving handguns and trafficking of hard drugs, and who was aware of Rayes' past criminal record for the same sort of crimes, would see detention as necessary for the administration of justice," Brown said.

Rayes, who was born in Libya and has lived in Canada since 1987, is facing 19 drug and weapons charges relating to two 2023 raids of homes in West Kelowna and the Lower Mainland. Charges were not laid until Nov. 28, 2024.

Brown said the federal Crown's theory is that Rayes is a wholesale drug dealer with a sophisticated operation in Western Canada using intimidation and violence. These allegations have not been tested in court and Rayes is presumed innocent of these charges. Brown also pointed out that his possession of these guns and drugs is very much at issue.

Nonetheless, he outlined the case before him. Brown said that police raided a home on Old Raven Road in West Kelowna Aug. 31, 2023, where they believe Rayes to have lived. They found a restricted handgun model 1911, allegedly with Rayes' DNA on it, and this handgun had been reported stolen. Brown said ammunition for the handgun was found in a Walmart bag, with a magazine on the couch and a baggage tag in Rayes' name sat on the bed.

“The Crown submits that the kitchen area of the Old Raven residence was a drug production area. There, the police located 992 grams of cocaine (in two packages and as a brick); 2,615 grams of fentanyl (as mixtures and a rock); 1,098 grams of MDMA; 134 grams of methamphetamine; 79 grams of a type of benzo drug; 254 grams of benzodiazepine; and 74 grams of xylazine. Other mixing compounds such as caffeine were found, as well as a cellphone,” Brown said.

Then on Sept. 1, 2023, the police executed a search warrant at a condominium in a tower on Alpha Way in Burnaby, where they believe Mr. Rayes stayed when in the Lower Mainland, Brown said.

“At the Burnaby residence, police located a Colt revolver which was loaded and in a box, as well as a small quantity of drugs. They also located a Glock Model 48, which was loaded and listed as stolen. It was in a clutch bag with a Capital One card in Mr. Rayes' name. Crown submits the credit card was still valid,” Brown said.

Two cellphones were seized from the suite, and a third phone was seized from the Mercedes.

“These phones were searched and revealed images of the accused, drugs, and firearms. Undoubtedly, admissibility and reliability may be at issue at trial concerning these cellphone records. Nevertheless, the cellphones contained evidence of drug trafficking and overt and subtle threats to debtors,” Brown said.

“Conversations were with a 'Sanad' and a 'Nate.' There was a discussion of taking over a drug dealer's operation in Merritt and coordinating individuals regarding a two-kilogram shipment of methamphetamine. In submissions, the Crown detailed many conversations, allegedly from the accused, about drug prices, deliveries, and so on.”

Additionally, Brown said police also learned of an alleged $97,000 in suspicious cash deposits over multiple accounts in Edmonton, Calgary, and Winnipeg which were connected to Rayes, his associates, and even his father. These deposits occurred between June of 2022 and July of 2023.

All of these laid the foundation for the possession and weapons charges, but of significant importance to Brown was the fact that Rayes is not a first time offender.

Without the untested charges to his credit, Rayes has a three-page record, which includes convictions for robbery in 2002 and possession of a prohibited or restricted weapon in 2003. He also has convictions for possession of schedule substances in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2009 and a possession for the purpose of trafficking conviction in 2004. He has a conviction for trafficking in 2008, for which he received a 19-month and 15-day sentence. He also has convictions for trafficking in 2011, for which he received, in total, a four-year jail sentence.

Rayes also has many weapon prohibitions from 2004, 2008, and 2011. He also has five failures to comply on his record between 2004 to 2009.

Following his four-year jail sentence, which started in 2011, Ryas completed college courses while on parole and there are no charges for several years, Brown said.

Then, during 2021, Rayes was convicted of a Public Health Act contravention and there were some allegations of violence and drugs in 2019 in Manitoba, Brown said.

Brown said while these are serious trafficking offences “especially when the allegations involve deadly fentanyl and stolen handguns” which are readily accessible, Rayes, was out in the community for a year and a half with no new charges. He also had a strong bail plan in place.

Ultimately, however, the Rayes' detention was necessary to maintain confidence in the administration of justice, the judge ruled.

He returns to court on the charges in April 24 in Kelowna.