Students making bad choices with risky homework in labs Shutdown: Police investigate a suspected drug lab in Barden Ridge. Chemistry students are among those who have been arrested across Sydney for setting up suburban drug labs in a scene police have likened to the TV series Breaking Bad, about a chemistry teacher who cooks up methamphetamine in his backyard. Three men remain in Sydney hospitals with horrific burns following two explosions this week in suspected drug labs in Barden Ridge, in Sydney's south, and in Bankstown. Rob Cutelli, the brother of drag racer Joe Cutelli, and another relative were flown to Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital in a critical condition on Sunday night following an explosion in the garage of a Barden Ridge home. They are believed to have jumped into the home's swimming pool in a bid to relieve the pain before they were rushed to hospital, where they underwent emergency surgery. Anywhere from someone with no background in chemistry but they've learnt it off the internet to some highly-skilled lay chemists. Less than 24 hours later, a 43-year-old man suffered serious burns to his face and body when a suspected drug lab exploded in the garage of a home on Archer Crescent in Bankstown. NSW Drug Squad commander Detective Superintendent Nick Bingham said police had already shut down 86 clandestine laboratories used to manufacture drugs such as ice, speed and ecstasy across the state this year, and the trend was worrying. He said police were finding an average of two drug labs a week, about three-quarters of which were in suburban areas. "It certainly does look like an episode out of Breaking Bad with the explosions we've had at Barden Ridge, and we had another one overnight," Superintendent Bingham told ABC radio. Police have launched a campaign encouraging residents to keep an eye on their neighbours and report potential drug houses. Superintendent Bingham said some of the tell-tale signs that a house was being used as a drug lab were blacked out windows, hoses and pipes "in strange places," vehicles arriving at odd hours and strange odours emanating from the property. The drug labs that had been dismantled by police ranged from a "high school lab to the full scientific apparatus." "We've certainly arrested chemistry students," Superintendent Bingham said. Police urged anyone with information about suspicious properties to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page.