UNIVERSITY STUDENT'S SECRET LAB MADE DRUGS WORTH $1M

Guilty Of Trafficking; Jailed For Two Years

KITCHENER - When Matthew Crane wanted to know how to make his favourite
drug, Ecstasy, he turned to the Internet for tips.

And after the 23-year-old was caught running an underground laboratory,
which made $1-million worth of the drug, he again turned to the Internet,
logging on to Corrections Canada's Web site to prepare himself for what
life would be like behind bars.

Crane, who finished his computer science degree while awaiting trial, was
yesterday sentenced to two years in prison on various drug charges.

It was early last year when he rented space in an industrial plaza on the
outskirts of Kitchener and set up a large manufacturing operation. Some of
the specialized equipment was bought at chemical supply stores; the rest
was buckets and bowls. He also imported chemicals.

In an interview yesterday, he said it was his curiosity that had got him
into trouble. In 1994, at the age of 17, Crane, a two-time science fair
winner during junior high school, left the family farm in Kensington,
P.E.I, to attend the University of Waterloo.

Two years into his computer science program, Crane attended his first rave.
"I was involved in rave culture and became pretty immersed in it," he said.

Over the next two years, he attended up to three raves a week. He went to
bigger parties in Guelph, London, Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal and took
Ecstasy.

He also started making his own drugs. "I have always had an interest in the
chemistry of drugs, so this was my way of making a contribution to the rave
scene."

Jim Hornby, his lawyer, said: "He wasn't a chemistry student and he had to
wonder if he could pull it off without killing himself.

"There was a monetary motive but it started out as a social thing," he added.

After some trial and error, Crane perfected the process with help from an
Internet community, called The Hive, which had as its motto: "Your global
resource centre for the advancement and exchange of knowledge regarding
mind-altering chemicals."

The reaction from his peers was immediate. "The feedback is overwhelmingly
positive from whatever group of friends you give the drugs to," Crane said,
describing his early trafficking as a "social accommodation. There was more
than I needed and I was involved in a community."

But greed took over and he set up the manufacturing facility.

"It was hard. I was going to school during the day and doing this at
night," he said. Any spare time was consumed by raves. He became so
immersed in rave culture -- both real and online -- there was little room
for anything else.

"I wasn't in real society. It was an alternative reality," he said.

On May 1, 1999, police raided Crane's lab and arrested him on various drug
charges. In court yesterday, Gerry Taylor the Crown attorney, said Crane's
enterprise was a dangerous affair. Crane was involved in an array of drugs,
including heroin, marijuana and ketamine and used a teenager in a high
school to peddle Ecstasy.

"It was practically national in scope," said Mr. Taylor. "Some of these
drugs made their way to Prince Edward Island. It had an international
aspect -- some went across the border into Michigan."

Originally charged with 17 drug offences, Crane pleaded guilty to six,
including conspiracy to sell Ecstasy. The Crown dropped charges of
manufacturing Ecstasy as part of Crane's plea arrangement.

"You are a very intelligent individual who is more than capable of making a
very significant contribution. Instead, you got involved in the drug
subculture," said Justice David Carr in sentencing him. "Intelligence is a
two-edged sword."

Crane turned to his mother and father, who sat in court clutching hands,
before being led away from court yesterday. He will likely serve his
sentence at a farm-based prison in Nova Scotia.

His parents said the sentence was fair. "For Matthew it was a gradual
sucking into the culture. He got so caught up in the world he lost his
decision-making process," said Mrs. Crane.

The past year, when he was released pending his trial, he gave the family a
chance to deal with what he was involved in and come closer together, she said.

Added Mr. Crane: "Things have changed now to the point where we trust
Matthew again."