It feels too soon to start handing out superlatives for the year 2014, but this news still sounds like a contender for one of the most unbelievable stories of the year. Authorities in Florida have arrested Ryan Lee Carroll, a 28-year-old San Carlos Park resident who got to watch the Breaking Bad series finale with the show's cast last September after winning a contest, on multiple charges that include running a drug distribution operation.

According to local reports, Carroll was booked into the Lee County jail at 1:29 a.m. on Wednesday morning, charged with possession of a synthetic narcotic with intent to sell and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription. Two other men were arrested at the same time.

Investigators had been seen searching trash cans and vehicles outside Carroll's home the day before, with Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Tiffany Wood describing the trash-trawling as part of an "ongoing investigation of significance," albeit one that posed no threat to the neighborhood.

Neighbors had been suspicious of Carroll since his arrival months earlier. 55-year-old Randy Hughes, who lived next door to Carroll's home, said that it was obvious that something was going on. "They either had a very successful business, or they were up to something they shouldn't be," he told NaplesNews.com. "Every day, FedEx deliveries."

Just a few months earlier, Carroll won a contest to attend a private screening party for the series finale of the hit show about a man running a drug operation. "If you start watching it, you can’t stop," he said of the series at the time. "It's highly addicting, just like the meth they make (on the show)."

Clearly, the show was more educational for Carroll than anyone suspected at the time. More than $1 million in synthetic marijuana – reportedly mixed using a cement mixer – was seized as a result of the haul, which also included a hazmat suit signed by Breaking Bad cast members that had been awarded to Carroll at the screening party.