A St. Albans man was jailed Friday after federal agents raided his home earlier this week and found a hidden room in his home allegedly used to make cocaine.
A criminal complaint charging Christopher Ayash, 47, with manufacturing cocaine was unsealed Thursday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Dwane Tinsley.
Ayash was jailed Friday by Tinsley after federal prosecutors asked for a three-day continuance before a detention hearing is held on Oct. 15. Assistant U.S. Attorney Haley Bunn also asked Tinsley to keep Ayash in jail until that hearing.
Agents searched Ayash's home at 858 Jonash Lane on Wednesday. Media outlets reported helicopters hovering over the residence and armored vehicles around the area on Wednesday evening.
U.S. Postal Inspector Joshua Mehall wrote in a sworn statement that when law enforcement officers arrived they found Ayash in the basement of the home. They also found a concealed room that served as a laboratory to manufacture cocaine. Sulfuric acid, separation funnels and kerosene - which are all used to make cocaine - were found in the home, the inspector wrote.
Also, agents found a glass dish in the laboratory that contained a white substance that allegedly field-tested positive as cocaine.
Ayash was taken to the South Central Regional Jail after Friday's hearing. He hired Charleston attorney Mark McMillian to represent him.
Ayash, a developer, owns several properties in St. Albans.
According to the secretary of state's website, Ayash owns Hardcore Labs LLC, which is located at the Jonash Lane address searched by agents. Also, a business called Felonious Investments LLC is located at that address, among several other businesses that Ayash owns, according to the secretary of state's office.
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.