Chinese teacher breaks bad; arrested for making and selling crystal meth

We all loved Breaking Bad. But some took it quite seriously. In not the first case of real life imitating art, a Chinese school teacher was arrested for making and selling crystal meth, much like the hugely popular TV show’s protagonist Walter White. According to a report in the  Washington Post , drugs dealers in China arrested earlier this year had said they were getting their drugs from a single mysterious “Mr. Lu”, the school teacher (much like Heisenberg running the drug trade in his city in Breaking Bad). [caption id=“attachment_1104329” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Breaking Bad. Image courtesy: amctv.com[/caption] The report says Lu was a former school administrator, had set up his own meth lab in a five-room apartment in Nanning and was running his business online. According to a Sydney Morning Herald report, authorities in the city of Hechi nabbed Lu on 28 September after a rigorous investigation. “This is the most advanced methamphetamine-producing equipment and the greatest volume of methamphetamine ingredients I’ve ever seen,” the report quoted Jiang Jiteng, the chief of Hechi’s anti-narcotics department (who was not Lu’s brother-in-law) as saying.

#BreakingBad in real life: Chinese ex-chemistry prof. manufactured meth in his apt in S China then sold them online pic.twitter.com/MDO8dOcMkf

— People's Daily, China (@PDChina) October 11, 2015

However, in a deviation from the show’s story, Lu did not have cancer as Breaking Bad’s protagonist Walter White did. Instead, he was just addicted to drugs and was manufacturing and selling meth to fuel his addiction, a report in the LA Times said. This isn’t the first time when the real world broke bad.  In September, British court had sentenced a Pakistani-origin software programmer to eight years in jail in London after he tried to buy deadly ricin poison online after being inspired by Breaking Bad. The show is one the most loved television series of all time and is also hailed as one of the best. It’s easy to get swept away by it. But then, those who get inspired must remember that even Heisenberg met a bitter end.