FROM A DAUGHTER OF PRIVILEGE TO A CRYSTAL-METH CON ARTIST

West Vancouver, Edmonton - For months, the twentysomething woman, her
big dog and her male companion were quiet fixtures on Rockend Place, a
private preserve of luxury homes with million-dollar views of the
Pacific Ocean.

Then the rumours started to fly about the couple. And the police came,
arresting the man and woman in their vehicle as they drove through the
ultra-affluent West Vancouver neighbourhood, and uncovering the tools
of a sophisticated identity-theft racket after searching the
$1.6-million home.

This week, Alberta Chief Justice Catherine Fraser and her husband told
the public that it was their child, Andrea Claire Fraser, who had been
arrested -- and that it was the scourge of crystal methamphetamine
that had turned a daughter of privilege into a convicted felon hooked
on street drugs. It is an addiction that has pushed the young woman
directly into trouble with the law, her parents said.

"Our daughter is a good person whose conduct has unfortunately been
driven by an addiction to crystal meth. We stand by her," Catherine
and Richard Fraser said in a statement. "We will do everything we can
to support her and the court order.

"Every family at one time or another faces a trauma. At this point,
this is ours."

Crystal meth was at one time associated with runaways and prostitutes,
but the street drug is quickly burrowing into Canadian homes,
devastating families of all incomes and backgrounds, including the
Frasers. "It is a deeply personal matter we are dealing with," Mr.
Fraser said in a brief interview. The family said they need their
privacy as Andrea fights her addiction.

That battle has already begun, with her release contingent on
immediately beginning a court-ordered detox program. The day after
leaving jail, she was brought to the Orchard Recovery and Treatment
Centre, an exclusive clinic on Bowen Island, just a short ferry ride
away from West Vancouver.

The Orchard, which takes only 25 clients at a time, resembles a lodge.
Clients have access to a yoga meditation instructor, personal trainer
and shiatsu and massage therapist. Doctors are on call 24 hours a day.

The exclusive addiction treatment centre's staff hold the core belief
that "addiction is a spiritual malady." Family participation in a
person's recovery is highly recommended, and relatives are allowed to
make weekend visits to the secluded treatment centre, as well as
attend educational programs and seminars.

According to the centre's website, a 28-day stay is $12,700, or $453 a
day. As part of her conditional sentence, Ms. Fraser must spend at
least six weeks at the Orchard; a 42-day stay costs $17,700.

West Vancouver police are used to crystal-meth addicts ransacking the
mailboxes of the wealthy in search of a quick buck for a quick high.
But Sergeant Paul Skelton said he cannot recall his force uncovering a
sophisticated identity-theft scam as was discovered at 4288 Rockend
Place, which the Fraser family bought for $1.4-million cash in June of
2005.

Four months later, police armed with a search warrant found 26.5 grams
of crystal meth in the home, and arrested four people, including
Andrea Fraser. No drug charges were laid because police could not
establish who owned the crystal meth, Sgt. Skelton said.

Thirteen months after that, police were back at the home, uncovering
the tools of an identity-theft ring, including computer equipment,
stolen mail, fraudulent IDs and even a stolen sheriff's badge. There
were no drugs recovered in the second search, Sgt. Skelton said.

Ms. Fraser's co-accused, Sean William Clarke, was freed on $50,000
bail, but did not show up for a court hearing; police have now issued
an arrest warrant for him.

Sgt. Skelton said many people aren't even aware that they are taking
crystal meth initially, mistaking its high for less ravenously
addictive rave-type drugs. But addiction is nearly immediate, followed
by erratic, irrational behaviour and a theft spree to grab enough cash
to keep the crystal-meth high flowing.