'Breaking Bad' in Rajasthan: 2 Science teachers held for running drug-making lab at flat

Representative photo

In similar scenes straight out of the iconic show 'Breaking Bad', two science teachers were arrested in Sri Ganganagar for manufacturing the drug mephedrone in an apartment that served as a clandestine laboratory, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) said on Monday, Hindustan Times reported.

Mephedrone (4-Methylmethcathinone), also known as MD, is a synthetic stimulant drug in the cathinone family. Both the accused are locals — one a 35-year-old chemistry teacher at a private school and the other a 25-year-old science teacher at a government school.

“During the search conducted in a flat located in Dream Homes Apartments, Ridhi Sindhi Enclave, Sri Ganganagar in the early hours on July 8, 2025, the NCB team recovered about 780 gram of MD. Besides, a lot of precursor chemicals, namely Acetone, Benzene, Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate, Bromine, Methylamine, Isopropyl Alcohol, 4 Methyl Propiophenone, N Methyl 2 Pyrrolidone and lab equipment were recovered, which are used in the manufacturing of synthetic drugs,” Neeraj Gupta, deputy director general of the NCB, was quoted by HT as saying.

The accused, who have been friends for 15 years, rented the flat for ₹10,000 per month two months ago. The agency is investigating who peddled the drugs they were manufacturing. Their raw material supply came from Delhi, Gupta added.

As per the report, the arrests follow a recent NCB alert to state police forces about similar clandestine laboratories mushrooming across the country.

NCB chief Anurag Garg in a letter to the police chiefs last month listed some red flags. They include: buildings with covered or blacked-out windows and CCTV around the perimeter; strong odours of chemicals such as ammonia, solvents, vinegar, and cat urine; unusual ventilation equipment or external ducting; unusually high electricity usage; presence of large quantities of household industrial chemicals; lab equipment, gloves, plastic containers or tubing discarded in garbage; complaints from locals about burning eyes, headaches or strange smells; frequent deliveries of unlabelled boxes of containers, often in small trucks, and residents of such premises showing signs of paranoia, evasiveness or denying access.

As per the report, the accused were under debt and decided to manufacture the drug in the flat they rented to pay off the debt, NCB officials said, adding that the men said they sold their product through a middleman and efforts are underway to identify the person.