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Two foreign nationals were arrested in Istanbul after police uncovered a drug production operation involving a camper van similar to the mobile laboratory featured in the American television series "Breaking Bad," seizing 213 kilograms of synthetic drugs, authorities said Saturday.
Teams from the Istanbul Police Department's Narcotics Crimes Branch launched an investigation after spotting two people carrying bags out of a foreign-registered camper van parked on a street in the Sisli district.
The suspicious activity prompted officers to place the individuals under surveillance as part of ongoing efforts to combat drug manufacturing and trafficking.
Police subsequently discovered liquid synthetic drugs stored in three separate compartments concealed beneath the camper van.
Following approximately 15 days of technical and physical surveillance, investigators determined that the suspects had rented a house two streets away from where the camper van was parked.
According to police findings, the suspects allegedly processed liquid synthetic drugs inside the camper van before transferring them to the rented house, where the substances were converted into solid form for distribution.
Officers carried out simultaneous operations at the identified locations on Oct. 13, detaining two foreign nationals.
Searches of the camper van and house uncovered 213 kilograms of synthetic drugs, including 162 kilograms in liquid form and 51 kilograms in solid and crystalline form.
Police also seized equipment and materials allegedly used to manufacture the drugs at both locations.
After completing police procedures, the suspects were referred to a courthouse, where a judge ordered their formal arrest pending further legal proceedings.
The investigation attracted attention because of its similarities to Breaking Bad, the American television crime drama that aired from 2008 to 2013.
In the series, Walter White, played by Bryan Cranston, and Jesse Pinkman, portrayed by Aaron Paul, use a camper van as a mobile drug laboratory to conceal their activities and avoid detection by law enforcement.
The series ran for five seasons and 62 episodes, with the mobile laboratory becoming one of its most recognizable settings.
Unlike the remote desert locations depicted in the series, the Istanbul suspects allegedly operated their camper van on a city street while using a nearby rented property to process and prepare the drugs for distribution.
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