'Breaking Bad' Gang Led By Cancer Sufferer

A cancer victim who masterminded a Breaking Bad-style drugs plot has been jailed for 18 years.

George Rogers, 78, set up a gang from behind bars, recruiting a self-taught chemist to make crystal meth.

Despite his illness, the career criminal established a UK-wide team who bought a kilo of cocaine with the intention of selling it for £60,000.

The money would be used to buy the chemicals and equipment required to create a meth lab.

The case is reminiscent of the TV show Breaking Bad, where teacher Walter White starts manufacturing the drug to raise cash after being diagnosed with lung cancer.

However, the real-life version was halted before Rogers and his gang could get their product on to UK streets.

The bust came after police bugged their cars.

Eight members of the gang have now been jailed for between four and 18 years following a three-month trial at Bristol Crown Court.

Crystal methamphetamine - a highly addictive Class A drug - is relatively uncommon in the UK and the court heard how Rogers, who was released from prison mid-plot, saw a potential market in the South West.

The plan was to produce 20,000 pills an hour.

Detective Inspector Jim Taylor said: "The whole operation had striking similarities to the popular American crime drama series Breaking Bad, which featured a struggling high school chemistry teacher as the main character.

"He had been diagnosed with lung cancer and turned to a life of crime, producing and selling methamphetamine in order to secure his family's financial future before he died.

"Rogers was an elderly career criminal, reputedly with poor health, who was looking to set up a drugs empire in the South West, taking advantage of those with a drugs problem."

:: Rogers, from Bristol, was convicted of conspiracy to produce MDMA (ecstasy), methamphetamine, amphetamine and conspiracy to supply cocaine, and jailed for 18 years.

:: Harish Chander, 48, of West Bromwich, was convicted of conspiracy to produce MDMA and amphetamine and conspiracy to supply cocaine, and was jailed for 12 years.

:: Garry Gooda, 46, of Shefford, was convicted of conspiracy to produce methamphetamine and amphetamine but found not guilty of conspiracy to produce MDMA. He was jailed for 11 years.

:: David Nash, 61, of Bristol, was convicted of conspiracy to produce MDMA, methamphetamine and amphetamine, and was jailed for 11 years.

:: Steven Williams, 58, of Bristol, was convicted of conspiracy to produce methamphetamine and received a seven-year jail sentence.

:: Popinder Kandola, 55, of Walsall, was convicted of conspiracy to produce MDMA (ecstasy) and amphetamine. He received seven years.

:: Karl Thomas, 44, of Gloucester, was convicted of conspiracy to produce methamphetamine and jailed for eight-and-a-half years.

:: Wojciech Kolodziejczyk, 27, of West Bromwich, was convicted of conspiracy to produce amphetamine and was handed a four-year sentence.

:: A ninth member of the gang, Ryan Kelly, 30, of Bristol, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and was jailed for five years.