COURT SENDS STRONG MESSAGE TO 'WOULD-BE METH COOKS'

A Winnipeg man pleaded guilty yesterday to running a dangerous drug
laboratory -- the first of its kind ever discovered in Manitoba -- that
produced designer drugs intended for young consumers. Robert Kutcher, 29,
was sentenced to four years in prison in a precedent-setting case the Crown
hopes will send a strong message to budding drug chemists.

"To would-be meth cooks... the next place you may be cooking is in the
bread kitchen in Stony Mountain," said prosecutor Marley Dash.

Kutcher was arrested in the summer of 2000 after police stumbled across the
"crystal meth" laboratory while acting on a tip that there was a marijuana
grow operation inside a Boyd Avenue residence. Police found thousands of
dollars worth of drug-making equipment and dangerous chemicals in an
elaborate set-up, which included a homemade exhaust system that piped
dangerous fumes into the backyard.

The home was stripped of any contents and was simply being used as a drug
hideout.

"Any young child going into the backyard to retrieve a stray baseball could
have been gassed by these fumes," Dash said yesterday. The chemicals were
capable of yielding six or seven kilograms of ecstasy and methamphetamines
with a street value of more than $1 million, according to police.

Because they had no prior experience dealing with such operations, police
flew in a Health Canada specialist from British Columbia and called upon
the fire department, Manitoba Environment and a local chemical company to
help secure the scene.

"The police did not have the type of equipment needed to deal with the
lab," said Dash.

Police also seized a list of recipes which Kutcher -- the "cook" of the lab
- -- used in his illicit creations.

"Some confederates of his were then out flogging this stuff on the
streets," said Dash. Potential profits were huge. For every $1.62 worth of
ingredients, about $30 worth of ecstasy could be produced, he said.

Defence lawyer Joe Aiello said his client was a novice drugmaker who had
only recently began to experiment in his off-hours while working at
Kentucky Fried Chicken. "This was the first attempt at a batch," he said,
noting Kutcher has no prior criminal record, a Grade 12 education and has
been employed full-time for 12 years.

A second man was also charged for his role in the lab, but the Crown is
dropping those charges following Kutcher's guilty plea, said Aiello.