Telangana Eagle Busts Agra-Based Synthetic Drug Network; Ex-Lecturers Among Three Held

Hyderabad, March 9: In a major crackdown on an interstate drug trafficking racket, the Telangana anti-narcotics force, Eagle, carried out a special operation in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra and busted a synthetic drug manufacturing network that was allegedly supplying narcotics to several states across the country. Three people, two of whom were lecturers, have been arrested in connection with it.

Acting on intelligence inputs from the Eagle team, local police in Khandauli arrested one accused, while two others were taken into custody by Rajasthan police.

Officials said the gang was involved in manufacturing Mephedrone, a synthetic narcotic popularly known as MDMA. During the operation, police seized nearly 886 litres of chemical raw materials and equipment used for drug production. Interestingly, two of the accused had earlier worked as lecturers, police said.

Teacher-Turned-Drug Manufacturer

The main accused has been identified as Manoj Kumar, a disabled person from Khandauli in Agra. He has a Bachelor of Education (BEd) and an MSc in Chemistry, and worked as a teacher until 2025. While serving as a lecturer in Jodhpur, he became acquainted with a colleague, Veerendra Swamy.

After quitting his job in March 2025, he allegedly approached Veerendra with a plan to manufacture MDMA, promising large profits if they worked together. Both travelled to Hyderabad, where they rented a room near the highway in Shadnagar, where they procured around 15 different chemicals and attempted to produce the drug for nearly a month. However, the plan failed.

Manoj later moved to Rajasthan and resumed teaching. However, Veerendra and another associate, Manish, contacted him again and convinced him to start the operation again. The trio then set up a makeshift laboratory in the Ramnagar area of Khandauli and produced about 100 grams of mephedrone in the first attempt.

Fake Identities and Interstate Supply

Investigations revealed that the gang operated using fake addresses and GST registrations. They reportedly purchased large quantities of chemicals using a GST number linked to an address in Bengaluru, paying about Rs 3.5 lakh for the fake registration.

The Eagle team began probing the network after noticing suspicious chemical purchases from a company in Hyderabad’s Kukatpally. The company owner informed police that hundreds of kilograms of raw materials had been ordered in September 2025 in the name of Girish Thapar.

Further investigation revealed that Thapar was actually Veerendra Swamy, who was using a fake identity. Police found that nearly 300 kilograms of chemicals were delivered tolocations in Delhi, Kutch in Gujarat, and Chitradurga in Karnataka.

Authorities also discovered that Manish had previously operated a dhaba in Chegunta in Medak district, where several gang members stayed during their visits to Hyderabad.

Following the intelligence shared by Eagle officials, police in Rajasthan arrested Veerendra and Manish. Investigators suspect that a key handler based in Jodhpur had been placing bulk orders for the drugs, and further investigation is underway to identify the wider network and trace the distribution channels across different states.