The Chinese Heisenberg: What did the police discover in the professor's laboratories?

A two-year investigation in China's Shandong province uncovered an international drug manufacturing network led by a retired chemistry professor. Police arrested 71 suspects, seized approximately 73 kilograms of etomidate, five tons of raw materials, and laboratory equipment. Profits are estimated at over $750,000.

A case dubbed the "Chinese Breaking Bad" has ended with the arrest of 71 suspects and the seizure of large quantities of chemical substances. According to a report in the South China Morning Post, the investigation began in 2024 after police in Shandong province noticed that a local pharmaceutical company had purchased unusual quantities of six chemicals used to produce etomidate, a medical anesthetic abused in e-cigarettes known as "zombie vapes." Investigators discovered that the network operated beyond China's borders. Intermediate materials produced in the country were shipped to Vietnam and Thailand, where the drug preparation process was completed. Some shipments were disguised as other products, including Vietnamese tea oil. After an investigation lasting nearly two years, authorities launched a coordinated arrest operation on April 2, 2026. The operation dismantled seven production sites in China and other Southeast Asian countries, arrested 71 suspects, and seized approximately 73 kilograms of etomidate, about five tons of raw materials, and laboratory equipment. According to police, the professor, Huang, earned more than five million yuan, about $750,000, in just over a year. The case sparked reactions on Chinese social media, where users compared the professor to Walter White, the chemistry teacher turned drug manufacturer in the series "Breaking Bad." One user even nicknamed him "The Heisenberg of Zibo," after the Chinese city and the famous character's alias.