Breaking Bad Ralph Steadman
Chinese professor caught making millions of dollars over sale of ecstasy substitute drugs over the Internet. Ralph Steadman

A Chinese professor brought alive US TV hit serial Breaking Bad's Walter White figure after he was found selling a substitute of psychoactive drugs.

The professor who was identified by his last name Zhang was found selling drugs worth millions of pounds to clients across the Internet in the US, UK, Canada and Australia.

Zhang reportedly found out about the drugs' popularity while he was in Australia as a visiting academic, reported AFP News.

After starting a chemical company in 2005, Zhang hired staff to produce "hundreds of kilograms" of methylone, often used as a substitute for MDMA or ecstasy.

Zhang sold an estimated 193kg of methylone between March and November in 2014 to overseas customers.

Earlier, a chemistry teacher was jailed after planning a Breaking Bad-style operation to make £4m-worth of amphetamines every two days.

The 61-year-old from Poland was, however arrested before he could start manufacturing 40 kilos of high-purity amphetamine, estimated to be worth £4m, every 48 hours.

The lecturer had even set up a secret lab, just like the US TV show, as an underground bunker to store chemicals.

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