Italian police arrest 'Breaking Bad' fan in meth lab bust

Italian police said on Friday 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.