Chinese police smash Breaking Bad-style drug ring ‘set up by former banker’
Officers seize 20 kilograms of meth after raiding illegal factories in northeastern province of Jilin
Police in northeast China announced on Friday that they had broken up a methamphetamine ring allegedly set up by a former banker, mainland media reported.
The 28-year-old, named Sun, quit his job last August and is accused of turning to the drug trade after learning how to make the drug online, Legal Daily Reported.
In a distinct echo of the television series Breaking Bad, the drugs soon became highly in demand in Jilin province and Sun was said to have passed on his skills to criminals who set up their own drug labs.
Sun was arrested in March, but police did not report the news at the time as they tracked down the other members of the drug ring.
Over the following months information supplied by Sun led them to six other drug factories.
In total police seized 22 kilograms of methamphetamine, over 1,200 drugmaking tools and around 160,000 yuan (US $24,282), the largest drug case in Jilin province.
Sun told police he could produce 10 kilograms of meth every day while working at full capacity, the report said.
He also said he had sold 8 kilograms to other provinces across China.
Police were tipped off by residents in Changchun, the capital city of Jilin, the report said. They asked patrolling police to check their building’s gas pipeline since there had been a pungent smell for weeks.
Police discovered the smell was coming from a flat on the seventh floor and they subsequently found packages of chemicals which are essential for making meth – such as phosphoric acid and iodine – at the delivery centre of the building.
Police said they had made 12 further arrests since Sun was detained and were still investigating the case.
