A chemical firm based in Port Coquitlam, B.C., claims Health Canada wrongfully cancelled its licences to make natural health products after being sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for alleged involvement in importing precursor chemicals that could be used in illicit drug production.
Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo had said in a statement at the time that the targets of the sanctions included a China-based network involved in the manufacturing and distribution of fentanyl and “other substances that take thousands of American lives each year.” Valerian Labs says the Health Canada decisions were unreasonable and unfair, having relied on an uncorroborated “foreign press release.”
Reached by phone and text message, Shah denied allegations related to the drug trade but acknowledged buying the chemical.His “only mistake” he wrote, was that he “didn’t just procure. I have them as commodities on my inventory that I offer as a chemical vendor.” A Health Canada spokesperson said no one was available for an interview about the company’s licence cancellations, and the agency would not comment on ongoing litigation.
Company registration records show Valerian Labs used to be registered in B.C. under the name Hollywood Vape Labs, and court records show he and his former wife, Ramina Shah, faced a civil forfeiture lawsuit from the B.C. government, but the case was dropped.