Chinese Academic Jailed For Making Illegal Drugs

In a real-life incarnation of the television series “Breaking Bad,” authorities in the central China city of Wuhan have arrested a chemistry professor and seven other suspects accused of making and exporting illegal drugs. The group had been peddling 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylcathinone, also known as MDMC or methylone, a psychoactive drug promoted as a substitute for MDMA, also known as Ecstasy. The announcement of the arrest came by way of a report from the Wuhan Evening News posted on the website of the Wuhan customs bureau. The report said the unnamed chemist, an associate professor at a “famous” university in Wuhan, got the idea to make and export party drugs after spotting loopholes in the laws of Australia, where he lived for several years as a visiting professor. The chemist formed a company in 2005 as a cover for his activities. The company allowed buyers to pay via PayPal and also accepted Bitcoin.