The Thunder, a Chinese TV series that tells the story of brave police officers who crack down on crafty drug dealers and finally arrest all the criminals. Photo: IC

 Police in East China have detained a man who called them 17 times claiming he was a drug dealer from a popular TV drama and had killed someone.

The man in Wenling, Zhejiang Province is a fan of The Thunder, a TV series that tells the story of brave police officers who crack down on crafty drug dealers and finally arrest all the criminals, btime.com reported on Sunday. Some scenes in the drama involve gunfights and death.

The man was apparently so drunk when he watched an episode of the popular drama that he somehow started to believe he was the real-life TV character who had committed murder, said the btime.com report. 

In the early morning of June 6, the man started to repeatedly call the police. 

"How long do you need to come and arrest me?" the man asked the police officer. "I just killed a person." The officer taking the call immediately realized the man was lying and warned him he would be punished if he continued to make false reports.

"Please investigate and then come to arrest me," the man challenged the police.

The man called again a few minutes later saying he couldn't sleep. Within an hour the man made 17 similar calls to the police.

The man finally got his wish to be arrested. Police detained him for seven days and fined 200 yuan ($28) for making false emergency reports, according to the local public security bureau.

Btime