2 teachers arrested for making party drugs, supplying online for raves for ‘quick money’

AGRA: In a joint operation by police teams from Agra and Hyderabad following inputs from Telangana Narcotics Control Bureau, a 36-year-old teacher, who used to teach chemistry in Jodhpur, was arrested for allegedly producing synthetic drugs and supplying them to rave parties via online channels. Manoj Kumar's arrest in Agra on Friday came a week after cops nabbed Virendra Kumar, a math teacher in Jodhpur."Manoj Kumar, who stays in Agra, was a chemistry teacher and used his expertise in chemicals along with online videos to prepare synthetic drugs. The lead in this case came after the arrest of another accused, Virendra Kumar. During questioning, Virendra said the drugs he sold online were manufactured by Manoj in Agra," DCP West, Aditya (who goes by first name), told TOI on Sat.During the raid, a large quantity of raw materials -- worth over Rs 1cr in the illegal market -- used for making the MDMA drug, commonly known as ecstasy, was seized. MDMA is a harmful synthetic psychoactive drug, mainly taken by youngsters, for altering mood and perception.According to police, a year back, Manoj, who is differently-abled, had shifted to Jodhpur to teach at a coaching institute. There, he met Virendra who convinced him to enter the drug business for "quick money".The chemistry teacher started producing the substance around six months ago, and he also rented a shop in Agra to store the raw materials. He then started supplying the substance to Virendra, who sold them online to party circuits, police said, adding that further investigation is on to see if they were part of a larger network.After their arrests, separate FIRs were registered against them under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act in Agra and Hyderabad. Notably, police in Telangana came across rampant online selling of such drugs in their state, and subsequently started a massive probe, which led them to Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.