A Cloverdale man who already spent time in prison for manslaughter a decade ago now faces a string of new charges in Burnaby, Langley, and Surrey involving guns, drugs, and an alleged murder conspiracy.
Brandon Nandan is in custody charged with conspiracy to commit murder, assault with a weapon, several firearms offences including possession of an unauthorized weapon, and half a dozen charges of drug possession for the purpose of trafficking.
Most of the alleged crimes are believed to have taken place in Burnaby, but the assault with a weapon and a charge of possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose charges are believed to have taken place in Langley, Surrey, and Burnaby.
All those charges are the result of an investigation by the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU) of B.C., an anti-gang integrated provincial police team.
The investigation into Nandan began in 2020 and the charges were laid last summer, said Sgt. Brenda Winpenny, spokesperson for the CFSEU.
“It involved a fairly complex investigation involving a drug trafficking network,” Winpenny said.
She could not say more about the case as it is now before the courts.
Nandan is expected to be back in Vancouver Provincial Court for an appearance on April 13.
He is separately charged in another investigation in Langley, which involves several more drug trafficking-related and gun-related charges. Those alleged crimes also took place around 2020.
Nandan is scheduled to appear in Surrey Provincial Court on March 4 and 18.
According to Langley RCMP, those charges are also from an investigation by officers at E Division, the B.C. RCMP headquarters that oversees provincial-level policing.
Persons charged with a criminal offence are considered not guilty until the charges are proven in court.
Nandan has already been convicted and served time for manslaughter.
READ ALSO: Six-year sentences for pair who killed man, burned body
He and Shakib Shakib were given six-year jail sentences in 2014 after they pleaded guilty to the 2011 killing of Branson Sanders. Nandan and Sanders had been involved in the drug business, according to the judge’s sentencing ruling, and a dispute led to an attack on Sanders with a machete.
After the stabbing, the court heard, neither Shakib or Nandan tried to help Sanders, and after his death, they removed the bloodied flooring in the house and repaired any damage to destroy any evidence of the killing.
Sanders’ charred remains were found in a Burnaby park in December 2011 by a passerby.
Nandan was originally charged with first degree murder, but that was reduced to manslaughter when he agreed to plead guilty.
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