In the hit series of Breaking Bad, a chemistry teacher Walter White finds out he has cancer and starts making drugs to earn money for his family. Slowly, he turns into a powerful and feared criminal. In a story straight out of Breaking Bad, Michael Williamson, a 77-year-old terminally ill British newsagent, has been revealed as the mastermind behind a massive £52 million cocaine operation that spanned more than 10 years. According to Daily Mail, Williamson led a quiet, seemingly uneventful life running a newsagent shop in Poynton, Cheshire. But behind that façade, he was orchestrating the distribution of over half a tonne of Class A drugs across the UK. His double life was exposed in 2019 when police raided his Salford home and shop, uncovering £137,000 worth of cocaine, £33,000 in cash, and meticulous records of drug deals and debts. Despite having no prior criminal record and living a solitary life, Williamson was charged with conspiracy to supply drugs and convicted at Bolton Crown Court in January. However, due to his terminal illness, he was never sentenced. He died earlier this month. Judge Clarke, speaking in court after his death, said Williamson was at the "very heart" of the drug conspiracy. His case has drawn widespread comparisons to Walter White, the fictional high school chemistry teacher-turned-drug kingpin from the hit TV series Breaking Bad. One source told The Sun, “He looked like your average corner shop owner, but behind the counter, he was dealing something far stronger than sweets.”Live Events The investigation also led to the conviction of three others, including 33-year-old former rugby league player Payden Candland, who received a sentence of 19 years and nine months in prison. Williamson’s story serves as a chilling real-life reminder of how appearances can be deceiving—and how far someone can go when pushed to the edge.(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) Read More News onMichael WilliamsonBreaking Badcocaine empiredrug conspiracyterminal illnessreal life stories (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2025 Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online....moreless (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)Read More News onMichael WilliamsonBreaking Badcocaine empiredrug conspiracyterminal illnessreal life stories(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2025 Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online....moreless Explore More Stories123