Real-Life Breaking Bad Teacher Busted For Meth Lab
A real life Breaking Bad teacher was busted for running a business that was a front for a meth lab operation.
It’s been nearly 15 years since Walter White, the fictitious high school chemistry teacher first graced TV with his “cooking skills” in what remains one of the most well-known, beloved crime dramas today. Because of that popularity, any educator caught up in a drug scandal has cemented their fate in being compared to the Breaking Bad teacher – primarily when that crime deals with the same drug that Mr. White cooked up on the show, meth. This appears to be the case with an American teacher making headlines, not for his academic skills, but instead for being busted in his role in running a meth lab.
The real-life Breaking Bad teacher – only identified by the surname of Lin – was one of four people arrested by Taiwanese authorities after a raid on the educator’s bar uncovered finished meth and unfinished materials that had yet to be produced into the illicit drug. The New York Post reported that Lin was recruited by the others because everyone involved believed his status as an American educator would shield the operation from suspicion. However, investigations allege that the drug front was run in the city of Taiwan in near plain sight.
It remains unclear in what capacity – and where exactly- this Breaking Bad style teacher taught within the United States. Also, the connection that led this teacher more than 6,000 miles from the country he taught to the East Asian country is uncertain. But what is known is that Lin owned a bar in Taitung City along the country’s southeast coast, where he operated the business as a front for the amphetamine production factory.
Operating in plain sight, the Breaking Bad teacher’s bar was reported to be in a busy metropolitan area of the city, surrounded by other shops and restaurants. Two of the men also arrested in the sting reported that they believed they could hide the smell in the educator’s bar, and more so thought that his status as an American teacher would keep any suspicion away – much like was long the case with Walter White in the hit AMC series.
Ultimately, Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau uncovered the drug operation. A special drug task force found that the Breaking Bad teacher, Lin, would go back and forth between his business and a warehouse where the group was storing the products to use in producing the meth. On March 11th, police raided the bar and arrested Lin, along with three other accomplices. Authorities seized 2.5 pounds of amphetamines and more than 21 pounds of unfinished product.
The story of this real-life Breaking Bad teacher isn’t the first to draw the attention of the media, and thanks to the monumental series, it probably won’t be the last. A chemistry professor with Henderson State University was arrested for cooking crystal meth for his own personal use. In another, eerily similar, case, a New Mexico high school chemistry teacher was arrested in 2017 for producing the drug. These types of scenarios all ring similar to the hit TV series, and many believe may even have been perpetrated out of inspiration to get away with the crimes as Walter White did for so long. But just as in the AMC drama (spoilers coming if you haven’t watched the show yet) they all eventually had their operations thwarted, just as was the case with Walter White.
