中国东部地区的警方近日捣毁了一个跨国贩毒团伙。据称，该团伙成员包括一名退休的化学教授以及一名拥有化学硕士学位的人员，他们共同从事毒品制造活动。
Police in eastern China recently dismantled a cross-border drug-trafficking gang that allegedly involved a retired chemistry professor and a master’s degree holder in producing narcotics. The case went viral in China, where social media users dubbed it “China’s Breaking Bad,” after the American crime drama that aired from 2008 to 2013.
此案在中国引发广泛关注，不少网友将其称为“中国的《绝命毒师》”——这一名称源自2008年至2013年间播出的美国犯罪题材电视剧。
The series is widely regarded as one of the greatest TV shows of all time.
《绝命毒师》被广泛视为有史以来最优秀的电视剧之一。在中国，该剧全部五季在知名评分网站上的得分均超过了9分（满分10分）。
In China, all five seasons scored above 9 out of 10 on the country’s best-known ratings site. During a routine inspection of a pharmaceutical technology company in 2024, police in Shandong province noticed that it had bought unusually large quantities of six chemicals used as key ingredients in etomidate.
2024年，山东省警方在对一家制药技术公司进行例行检查时发现，这家公司采购了大量用于制造依托咪酯的关键化学原料。依托咪酯是一种麻醉剂，常被非法添加到被称为“致幻电子烟”的产品中；长期大量使用该物质可能致命。中国已于2023年将该物质列为管制药品。
Etomidate is a narcotic drug that has often been misused in e-cigarettes known as “zombie vapes.”Long-term use of high doses can be fatal. China placed the substance under control in 2023.
警方查明，这些原料的采购者是一名姓黄的男子。他拥有化学硕士学位，此前多年一直在深圳从事电子烟销售工作。他在该制药公司仅工作了三个月便辞职离开。
Police discovered that a man surnamed Huang was behind the purchases. He had a master’s degree in chemistry and had spent years selling e-cigarettes in Shenzhen. He worked at the pharmaceutical company for just three months before quitting.
警方怀疑黄某购买这些原料是为了制造依托咪酯。调查显示，黄某频繁往返于山东淄博与深圳两地，每次都会与当地某高校的退休化学教授吴某会面数日。
Police suspected that Huang had bought the ingredients to produce etomidate. Their investigation found that he travelled frequently between Zibo, in Shandong, and Shenzhen, and spent several days at a time with Wu, a retired chemistry professor from a local college.
调查人员随后确认，吴某才是毒品制造环节的核心人物。他负责设计并优化生产工艺，还利用自己的人脉关系在中国五个城市的多家工厂内争取到了实验室场地，名义上是为了研发新药。
Investigators later revealed that Wu was the key figure in the production of etomidate. He had designed and refined the manufacturing process and used his connections to secure laboratory space in factories across five Chinese cities, ostensibly to develop new medicines.
据山东警方介绍，为规避法律风险，两人刻意仅在中国境内生产依托咪酯的前体化学品，随后将其运往越南、泰国和柬埔寨等地加工成成品。
According to Shandong police, the pair took care to produce only etomidate’s precursor chemicals in China, then transport them to Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia for conversion into the finished product, in an effort to avoid legal risks.
吴某与黄某负责监督生产过程，而一位姓王的电子烟销售商兼国际物流公司老板则负责安排将化学原料分批运输，并运送制造设备。
While Wu and Huang oversaw production, an e-cigarette seller and international logistics business owner surnamed Wang arranged for the chemicals to be moved in small quantities and for the manufacturing equipment to be transported.
警方表示，他们必须一举捣毁整个跨境制毒与贩毒网络，才能将涉案人员绳之以法。如果仅在中国境内发现制毒前体化学品，则无法定罪或实施逮捕。
Police said they needed to dismantle the entire cross-border drug-manufacturing and trafficking network at once to bring its members to justice. If they found only precursor chemicals in China, they would be unable to prove a crime or make arrests.
中国警方耗时近两年才收集到充足证据，并与越南、泰国的执法部门取得协调。
It took Chinese police nearly two years to gather sufficient evidence and coordinate with their counterparts in Vietnam and Thailand.
今年3月至4月间，警方先后捣毁了该犯罪团伙在柬埔寨、越南和泰国的7处据点。据中国中央电视台报道，此次行动共抓获71名嫌疑人，缴获73公斤依托咪酯、5吨制毒原料以及多件实验室设备。
In March and April, police dismantled seven of the gang’s bases across Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand. China Central Television reported that they arrested 71 people and seized 73kg of etomidate, five tonnes of active ingredients and multiple pieces of laboratory equipment.
警方查明，黄某通过这一非法活动获利达500万元人民币（约合75万美元）。目前此案仍在调查中，各嫌疑人正等待审判。
Police discovered that Huang had made five million yuan (US$750,000) from the illegal operation. The case remains under investigation, and the suspects are awaiting trial.
根据中国刑法规定，任何出售、运输或制造50克以上海洛因的人员，均可能被判处15年以上有期徒刑、无期徒刑甚至死刑，同时处以没收财产。
Under China’s Criminal Law, anyone who sells, transports or manufactures 50 grams or more of heroin may face at least 15 years in prison, life imprisonment or the death penalty, as well as confiscation of property.
在以往的司法案例中，法官通常将每克依托咪酯折算为0.4克海洛因来计算量刑。
In previous court cases, judges have calculated sentences by treating each gram of etomidate as equivalent to 0.4 grams of heroin.
“淄博的海森堡，”有网友开玩笑道，暗指《绝命毒师》中沃尔特·怀特的化名。
“Zibo Heisenberg,” one netizen joked, referring to the alias used by Walter White in .
“对化学专家而言制毒或许易如反掌，但大多数人不会这么做，因为人生中有比赚钱更重要的事，”另一位网友评论道。
“Making drugs must be easy for chemistry experts, but most wouldn’t do it because there are more important things than profits,” another commented.