ROME, March 28 — Italian police said today that 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