Border Security Probably Saved My Life
When people are arrested for something, especially importation, they often argue that they were wrongly apprehended or try to come up with excuses to support a claim of innocence. Not me. I knew exactly what was happening and told the truth. And I was glad I did.
When I was pulled into secondary screening at Pearson, a surprising sense of relief came over me, which was a nice break from the state of panic I had felt for the last three days. My only experience with secondary screening was between my flight from Cartagena, Colombia, to Miami. I wasn't doing anything wrong on that trip so I wasn't nervous. In fact, I was confused as to why they would be pulling me over. That's how little I knew of the drug trafficking world.
I caught the travel bug at a young age. I did my first solo trip at age 18 to Costa Rica, where I spent a month volunteering with sea turtles. (Thanks for the grad present Mom and Dad!) I then lived out west in BC and Alberta for two summers where I made stacks of cash working on a ritzy golf course while enjoying the beautiful, natural, outdoor amenities. I used some of the money to go to Peru alone during Christmas of 2011, where I spent 3 weeks doing an 'off the beaten path' backpacking trip. My mom was a little nervous when I told her I was taking midnight buses with chickens on board. I worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Indonesia for 8 weeks, and then travelled throughout Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam before heading home. I have also been all over the Caribbean and the US. My most recent trips before I was arrested were to Argentina, Colombia, and Uruguay. I love immersing myself in other places and cultures that are far removed from the non-stop rat race that permeates so much of our daily lives. They just seemed genuinely happier and more relaxed, despite having so much less than we did.
Although I travelled to many countries associated with the drug trade, I had never once in my life had anything to do with it. I enjoyed seeing the world too much to ever want to risk losing the privilege of having a passport. Sure, I was travelling a lot, but that was only because the person I was dating, Tod, had built a very successful business and now had some time to travel. He would also frequently fly me down to his hometown in the US where he showed me the ins and outs of his 200 plus employee internet marketing business, and frequently went with him to conferences. He believed in me and also believed that I could build something similar of my own, so he wanted to show me how. We had an open relationship, so dating someone who took me places while helping me build a business and who also let me see other people was a pretty perfect situation for a free spirited 26 year old. My parents thought it was a little unorthodox and were skeptical of his motives but I didn't care.
Meanwhile, I had just moved into a condo loft with my friend Suzy, and we were thrilled with our new surroundings. Things soon started to get out of hand with the partying. Liberty Village was party central. It still is. It isn't unusual to find baggies of cocaine accidentally dropped on the ground or even on your balcony. I've always been the type of person that can find a party whenever I want, it's almost like a sixth sense. Living in that area, I could find one within minutes, literally sniff one out. Hah.
When I wasn't in the US or travelling elsewhere with Tod, I was building my first attempt at a social media business in my home office at the condo. Tod gave me guidance over the phone, and was always signing me up for rigorous personal and professional growth programs. I would often plunk myself at the local bar or lounge to do work, then would end up staying till close with whoever was working that night. I was building the business at my own leisure, but soon he began to call me out on it. I was disappointed in myself for not working on the business as much as Tod wanted me to, and I didn't want him to think that I was taking him for granted. He was just trying to be helpful and assertive, which is what good business mentors do, yet I found it irritating. That was the first warning sign that the lifestyle was changing me for the worse.
Tod kept on wanting me to travel with him on a regular basis, and I started to feel smothered. Soon after, I ended things because he wanted to get more serious, and I was far from being ready for that. My parents were also going through a heartbreaking separation, and I did not know how to handle it. Even when I was travelling, I thought about it alot. As soon as I got home from a trip, I would continue to mask my pain by jumping right back into the partying scene.
After a winter spent globetrotting, summer in the city came at the most convenient time. No one even noticed how much anyone else was drinking, because everyone was doing the same thing. There were parties in the middle of the day, every day. Our apartment began to look like a frat condo, with collections of trinkets from the various parties. We had musical instruments, a life size Justin Bieber cut out, half of the Dollarama Toys and Games section, and various I-made-this-while-on-drugs paintings and crafts. There was a grocery cart full of booze in the corner. We would have parties and never see half of the people again. We were well known in the building (in a good way though!), and security loved us. They would unlock our door when we were too drunk to find our keys and tell us when someone was moving out and give us all their furniture they didn't want. It was a ritzy building, so we scored some sweet stuff while saving our money for more important things like Tito's vodka.
After awhile, I began to tire of the non-stop partying. The after effects of the drugs were also making me angry and paranoid. This was the second warning sign that things weren't good. Towards the end of our lease, Suzy and I made the smart decision that we shouldn't live together anymore, so I moved to a bachelorette condo across the street. Shortly after moving in, I realized living alone was a terrible idea. Instead of having people over, I would just go out...pretty much every night. Even when I tried to do "normal person" things, I always ended up somewhere else. For example, I once went grocery shopping to the 24-hour Metro at 11:30 pm wearing a Coors Light Chiller backpack (to carry the groceries home) and just happened to be wearing Wu-tang Clan socks. On the way, I walked by a bar and it just happened to be hip hop Wednesday that night. The bouncer was like "DAMN GIRL YOU BETTER GET IN HERE WITH THOSE SOCKS", and so needless to say I didn't end up getting groceries that night. At least I tried.
Sometimes I look back and wonder how I managed to get so much accomplished. But I got most of my business through meeting people which has never been a challenge for me. I would meet complete strangers at community events or lounges and end up getting meetings with them the following Monday. I was passionate about my business and wasn't afraid to show it, and people could see this and trusted me. I learned that people are most likely to want to work with you if you aren't all serious all the time, and you can show your fun side. That being said, you MUST produce, and a lack of professionalism is not an option when executing.
I also got involved with a few start-up communities and always managed to make it out to other networking events, while justifying any partying I did by surrounding myself with people who managed to party and run businesses at the same time. My rationale was that, if they could do it, so could I. There is nothing wrong with mixing business and pleasure; the company I was running demanded it. However, it was a challenge at times to maintain the right balance.
Part of my work involved reaching out to people and businesses who followed me on social media and offering them a free trial of the app we were working on. Little did I know one of the people I would connect with would soon become my co-accused.
Mark, who I met through lnstagram, showed a particular interest in me. He spoke well, and he complimented me on my accomplishments. He was very sweet, and he wasn't annoying. He invited me to visit him at his work. I always liked to have face to face meetings with potential business clients, so I went. As soon as I got there I felt natural chemistry. Not long after, we started seeing each other and I let him in, because he seemed like he genuinely cared. Instead, as I would find out later, he was preying on my weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Not long after meeting him I gave in and did something I would have never done in a million years if had I been strong and sober. But I wasn't sober. And I wasn't strong. I barely even fought back, and the next thing I knew I was in an airport holding cell.
In the end, I think that everything was supposed to happen this way. I'm not angry anymore, I'm actually really excited for this next chapter of my life. It could have been so much worse. I could have been seriously hurt, or jailed in another country. My family could have been harmed. Or, I could have gotten through and been caught in that cycle. Luckily, I was now going to be forever useless as a drug mule. It was all so terrifying, and it took me a long time to forgive myself for causing everyone so much hardship. I also NEEDED a clean break from that lifestyle. If I kept that up, I'm sure I would have developed serious health problems. Prison gave me that clean break, and a fresh start at life, 30 years young. Indeed, this was the easy way out, so THANK YOU Canada Border Services!
(Names of people in this story have been changed to respect their privacy)