Drug analyzer helps neutralize illicit trade

Police officer's lab team has handled more than 30,000 cases and examined 40,000 samples over the past decade

Unlike the twisted drug maker in the popular US television series Breaking Bad－Chen Yuemeng uses his knowledge of chemistry to solve crimes.

Chen, 43, works for the Guiyang Public Security Bureau in Guizhou province. Since he started drug analysis work in 2010, he has handled more than 30,000 drug cases, examined more than 40,000 samples and is confident he has not made a single mistake.

He works in the laboratory and occasionally goes to crime scenes to gather samples. However, he always reminds himself to be cautious as every examination of drug-related evidence is crucial to the outcome of a case and influences the sentence a convicted criminal receives.