Fraser Valley's Walter White denied bail on charges connected to massive fentanyl lab in rural Chilliwack
Justin Fauth is a personal trainer, owned Abbotsford supplement store, denied bail charged with illegal drug production, possession for the purpose of trafficking
Walter White is, of course, the mild-mannered chemistry teacher character turned grizzled meth cooker in the legendary AMC series Breaking Bad.
Justin Fauth on the other hand is a fit, good-looking, former supplement store owner and fitness consultant whose social media includes videos of him offering nutrition advice and posing with sports teams with his infectious smile.
Now, however, Fauth is behind bars facing serious criminal charges laid by federal prosecutors for allegedly being the man behind a massive illegal drug lab on a property on South Sumas Road.
Fauth was in provincial court in Chilliwack on Monday (Nov. 10, 2025) for an all-day bail hearing that spilled over to Friday and that was attended by more than a dozen supporters and family members. A decision on bail was then put over to Thursday (Nov. 20, 2025).
Because of the extremely serious nature of the charges he and his co-accused Carlos Martinez faces – so far one count each of production of a controlled substance and possession for the purpose of trafficking – a mandatory publication ban is in place on the proceedings, which means details of the evidence presented, the arguments, or reasons for the bail decision cannot be reported.
This type of publication ban is meant to protect trial fairness, essentially to keep the messy, untested, anything-goes bail-hearing material from contaminating a future trial.
In his decision issued Thursday, Judge Michael Fortino ordered Fauth remanded, denying him bail, the reasons cannot be reported because of a publication ban.
Martinez appeared a few days prior briefly in Abbotsford provincial court. His bail hearing was put over to Chilliwack for Nov. 25.
While the details of the bail hearing cannot be shared, some information about the case came out by way of an RCMP news release five days after the bust.
Fauth and Martinez were arrested with a significant amount of fentanyl that was allegedly produced at a functioning illegal drug lab at 44843 South Sumas Rd. A large amount of fentanyl pills were seized along with “significant” quantities of precursor chemicals and equipment from the South Sumas property as well as two residences and two storage lockers in Chilliwack, according to RCMP.
The property where the alleged lab is located is rural but isn’t exactly remote. It’s just 400 metres west of the residential neighbourhood of Vedder, 800 metres west of Tyson Elementary School, and 600 metres east of an industrial park at the front of which is Old Yale Brewing.
The Oct. 2, 2025 raid on the property and arrest of Fauth and Martinez after they left the property involved significant police, emergency responders, and other government agency resources, including Health Canada chemists. RCMP officers from the Chilliwack RCMP Crime Reduction Unit, the Lower Mainland Integrated Emergency Response Team (IERT), the RCMP Clandestine Lab Enforcement and Response Team (CLEAR), the Chilliwack Serious Crime Unit, and the General Investigation Section were involved in executing search warrants on this property and others.
The investigation began, the RCMP reported, in early 2025 following intelligence gathered in late 2024 that led police to Fauth and Martinez as “key suspects” in the distribution of fentanyl in the Chilliwack area.
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Paul J. Henderson
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