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The movement is subtle, but Transit Police Sgt. Clint Hampton recognizes it immediately.

While on foot patrol, Hampton watches as one man crosses the street and walks toward another man, who is sitting on a bicycle. The two men touch hands briefly, and the one on foot leaves in a hurry. The man on the bicycle starts to ride down 106th Avenue in Surrey’s City Centre at a leisurely pace.

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“Looks like he did a hand-to-hand,” Hampton says.

“You want to approach him?” Const. Darren Chua asks.

“Yeah,” Hampton responds, and the pair hustle across City Parkway.

It was just one incident among many during a typical evening for Metro Vancouver Transit Police officers, who are responsible for the safety of the region’s transit system. Although they are sometimes stereotyped as “glorified ticket writers,” during a ride-along with Postmedia, officers dealt with a variety of offences, from weapons to warrants.

As Hampton and Chua approached the man, he had, in plain view, a package of small resealable plastic bags, typically used to package drugs, so they detained him. When they searched him for weapons, they found a small belt around his waist.