Police in eastern China recently dismantled a cross-border drug-trafficking gang that allegedly involved a retired chemistry professor and a master’s degree holder in producing narcotics.
The case went viral in China, where social media users dubbed it “China’s Breaking Bad,” after the American crime drama that aired from 2008 to 2013.
The series is widely regarded as one of the greatest TV shows of all time. In China, all five seasons scored above 9 out of 10 on the country’s best-known ratings site.
During a routine inspection of a pharmaceutical technology company in 2024, police in Shandong province noticed that it had bought unusually large quantities of six chemicals used as key ingredients in etomidate.