Italian police arrest Breaking Bad fan in meth lab bust
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The drug laboratory uncovered by the Novara State Police, operated by a 22-year-old university student, in Novara, Italy.
PHOTO: REUTERS
ROME – Italian police said on March 28 they had dismantled one of the largest clandestine methamphetamine laboratories in the country, arresting a university student they described as a fan of the cult TV series Breaking Bad.
The show chronicles the downward spiral of a high school chemistry teacher who uses his knowledge to make and sell methamphetamine, also known as crystal meth.
A 22-year-old from the northern city of Novara was charged with the illegal production of drugs, police said in a statement. In Italy, the crime carries sentences ranging from six to 20 years’ imprisonment.
Officers who raided a property on March 21 found a large table with “a complex distillation workshop” on the ground floor, lit by a dim red light and including flasks, glass tubes and heat-resistant ampoules.
In the attic, they found an area where drug compounds such as MDMA and DMT were mixed and prepared, as well as "hallucinogenic stamps" – small pieces of paper doused in drugs such as LSD. REUTERS
