The real life 'Breaking Bad' drug fronts that hid in plain sight across the US trends now

Feds found pill presses, cocaine, and pounds of fentanyl at an unassuming car rental in Houston last week - the latest bust-up of business thought to be doubling as drug depots.

Four men are facing manufacturing and distribution charges following the high-profile raid of Speedy Slingshot Rental, which happened January 30 and could be linked to what feds say is a complex, far-reaching drug operation.

Authorities confiscated several pounds of product, pills, and high-tech drug-making machinery from the store, which opened last year and bills itself as Houston's premier exotic vehicle rental experience.

More charges are likely to follow for the unnamed men - who are reportedly already out on bail, despite authorities airing the belief the bust-up may be linked to Mexican cartels who have sought to expand their reach stateside.

The incident is just the latest in a series of Breaking Bad-esque busts of businesses acting as a front for criminal enterprises, with the one in Texas uncovering a sprawling, sophisticated lab straight from the hit series.

Neighbors said undercover officers had been staking out the shop for days prior to the raid, where feds found pill press machines, more than 17lbs of possible fentanyl precursors, and over 1 kilogram of counterfeit Xanax pills laced with fentanyl - a deadly drug that is 50 times stronger than heroin.

A synthetic opioid, the drug is commonly added to other illicit substances like cocaine and meth due to it's affordability and potency. The is blamed for helping fuel America's current drug crisis and subsequent rise in opioid-related deaths.

Authorities also discovered felony quantities of cocaine, ecstasy, meth, and fentanyl-laced Oxycodone at the roadside business - as well as a stolen vehicle, three pistols, and a rifle.

The four men arrested at the business have yet to be identified, and reportedly tried to flee from agents who descended on the store, according to the charges leveled against them - which included evading authorities in a motor vehicle. 

Fox News further reported that all four of the men were out on bail as early as Wednesday, despite facing felony distribution and manufacturing charges that could see them put away in a federal pen for up to 99 years.

The suspected drug depot is still being investigated, and is only the most recent instance of a restaurant, office, or other business serving as a cover for an illicit drug operation - a la the Albuquerque car wash bought by a rising Walter White, or the equally inconspicuous cartel-run chicken chain Los Pollos Hermanos.

That said, as efforts to quell the opioid crisis become more pronounced, drug factories adopting the façade of a respectable businesses have become more common - leading many to question exactly just how many are hiding in plain sight.