In a case of life imitating art, a Florida man who won a contest to watch the “Breaking Bad” series finale with cast members was busted – for operating a drug factory in his home, cops said.
Ryan Carroll, 28, allegedly had more than $1 million worth of synthetic pot stashed in his San Carlos Park pad, said cops, who hauled away boxes of evidence over several hours on New Year’s Day.
“It was kind of scary,” neighbor Peter Ryther told Fox 4 TV. “I came home at about 6 p.m. and there were still about 10 cop cars and they had this big bread truck and they were bringing boxes and boxes of something out.”
Carroll had his brush with fame in September after he won a contest to go to Los Angeles and see the hit show’s season premiere.
“It’s just so addicting. It’s such a good show,” Carroll told NBC 2 TV at the time.
“I think its addicting because people can relate to the main character,” he said about Walter White, a cancer-stricken high school chemistry teacher who resorts to making crystal meth to pay for his medical bills.
Ironically, a five-day “Breaking Bad” marathon had concluded on the cable network AMC the day before the bust.
The Lee County sheriff’s office said Thursday that Carroll is the alleged ringleader of the drug-making operation, and that authorities believe the synthetic marijuana produced in his home was shipped as far as Mexico.
Neighbors told Fox 4 Carroll had only lived in the house for six months.
I have never had any problems with the neighborhood. It’s a family neighborhood, a nice neighborhood, so this was a big surprise,” Ryther said.