i was active in such places pre-SR only. i remember when china banned mephedrone because of uk's demand caused by large number of fatal overdoses in uk.
china banned production of mephedrone - that was well known. the thing is - 4 of 5 labs get special permission to still produce it. that was unknown to general public.
despite he's mentioned in this article he is barely mentioned - paul le roux. he had skills, money and the timing of his capture and satoshi's disappearance are right.