DRUG COURIER LOOKS TO MAKE AMENDS

Calvin Meier is a young man who made a bad choice - and he's the first to
admit it.

Meier was one of nearly a dozen people caught in a sophisticated
dial-a-dope scheme rampant in South Delta. The alleged mastermind, Ladner
resident Chris Cameron, 28, has been in custody since his arrest in September.

Meier, 21, was apprehended by Delta police in a second round of arrests
through Operation Big Wheels a few weeks later.

The Tsawwassen resident had been "on the job" for about a day-and-a-half,
he contends, when police arrested him.

A BCIT graduate and motorcycle mechanic, Meier said he was laid off from
his job and had missed some payments on his beloved motorcycle. He said he
knows he should have tried to find another job, but the thought of making
as much money in one week as a drug courier than in a month at a legitimate
job was too tempting.

Meier was released from custody shortly after his arrest.

In an unusual action, Meier has publicly apologized to friends, family,
colleagues and the community in an open letter in today's issue of the
Optimist.

What made him think about the choice he made was a comment from an
undercover police officer shortly after his arrest.

"What would you do if you found out someone was selling drugs to your son
or daughter?" he recalls the officer asking him.

It was a comment that got under his skin. In his letter, Meier assures
parents they won't have to worry about him selling drugs to their kids again.

He's also warning other people who may be thinking about getting involved
in trafficking.

"You will get caught. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but you will get
caught and trust me, it's not worth the look of disappointment you'll get
from your friends and family when you're staring at them through a one-inch
piece of glass and all you want to do is hug them but you can't," he wrote,
referring to his five-day stay in the Surrey pre-trial centre awaiting his
court appearance.

Meier is determined to learn from his mistake and turn it into a positive.
If parents suspect their kids are doing drugs, or may be getting involved
in trafficking, they can contact Meier via e-mail at tigershark95@hotmail.com.

"Right now, I'd like to make a difference," he told the Optimist.