# The Narcotic Operation (2025)

> A 1995 anti-narcotics cop chases a bankrupt smuggler who turns to meth production and builds an expanding drug empire across borders.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/197860

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 33
- Episode runtime: 46 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, drama
- Network: Tencent Video
- Cast: Duan Yihong, Qin Hao, Kelly Yu, Wu Xingjian, Liu Huan, Hou Yansong, Li Yixiao, Wu Xiaoliang
- TMDB rating: 6.5/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35045720/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: gritty, tense, bleak, intense, grounded

## Synopsis

The Narcotic Operation (2025) is a Chinese crime drama series created for Tencent Video, a single-season limited series of 33 episodes. Anti-narcotics cop Lin Qiangfeng (Duan Yihong) transfers to the border town of Xigang after an undercover mission, and his pursuit of smuggler Lu Shaohua (Qin Hao) forms the spine of the story. Lu, bankrupt and desperate, turns from smuggling to meth production, building an expanding drug empire that pulls in partners, rivals and corrupt middlemen. The engine is a patient cat-and-mouse game: Lin gathers evidence, chases leads across porous borders and fights to keep his operations alive while the criminal network grows. Each episode is built from stakeouts, informant meetings, raids and shifting alliances, all carried in a gritty, grounded register. The story is set in 1990s southern China and the borderlands, with a tense, bleak, morally heavy tone. Viewers who enjoy Narcos, Breaking Bad and Ozark, with their drug-trade pursuit and criminal-empire rise, will find a familiar yet distinctly Chinese take on the genre.

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