‘Breaking Bad’ in Rajasthan: science teachers nabbed with Mephedrone worth ₹15 crore

In a case eerily mirroring the American crime drama ‘Breaking Bad’, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has busted a clandestine drug lab run by two highly educated men in Rajasthan. Among them: a 25-year-old science teacher from a government school and a former physics teacher turned Rajasthan Administrative Service (RAS) aspirant.

The accused — Manoj Bhargav and Indrajeet Vishnoi — allegedly manufactured Mephedrone (4-Methylmethcathinone), a synthetic stimulant drug that produces an intense sense of euphoria but is highly addictive and severely harmful with prolonged use.

Operating out of a rented flat at Dream Homes Apartment in Riddhi-Siddhi Enclave, Sri Ganganagar, the duo is accused of producing nearly five kilograms of the drug over the past two and a half months, drugs worth an estimated ₹15 crore on the black market. NCB Director (Jodhpur Zonal Unit) Ghanshyam Soni revealed that of this, 4.22 kg had already been sold.

To keep their operation under wraps, the two reportedly sourced chemicals and equipment from Delhi and would take leave from their jobs to cook the drug. During the dramatic NCB raid, officers seized 780 grams of Mephedrone valued at around ₹2.34 crore, alongside modern lab equipment and large quantities of precursor chemicals such as acetone, bromine, methylamine, and others.

The bust is being hailed as one of the largest crackdowns on a drug syndicate in Rajasthan. Meanwhile, authorities are racing to trace the buyers and investigate the potential involvement of other accomplices in this real-life crime saga inspired by fiction.