A cardiac stimulant designed to stabilise failing hearts during surgery, Mephentermine Sulphate is being sold to gym-goers chasing the perfect physique.
Published Nov 08, 2025 | 7:00 AM ⚊ Updated Nov 08, 2025 | 7:00 AM
Namalagundu gym trainers with DCA and Police. (Supplied)
Synopsis: Across Telangana, Mephentermine Sulphate, a cardiac stimulant intended for life-saving surgeries, is now being injected by bodybuilders seeking shortcuts to greater strength and sharper muscle definition, often with fatal results. A recent raid in Secunderabad that led to the seizure of dozens of vials of the controlled drug has exposed the disturbing scale of pharmaceutical abuse in Telangana’s fitness industry.
In a cramped room in Namalagundu, Secunderabad, officials from the Drugs Control Administration (DCA) found sixty-six vials of a drug that should only be used in operating theatres during life-saving surgeries.
Instead, it was being sold to gym-goers chasing the perfect physique.
Anabolic-androgenic steroids have long been an open secret in bodybuilding circles. But Mephentermine Sulphate Injection has now emerged as the latest substance being misused to push beyond human limits in gyms. Most have little idea that it could be fatal.
On 17 October, acting on information from Kharkhana Police, DCA officials raided an unlicensed premises and seized stocks of Termiva and Termin injections from M Naresh, who had been illegally supplying the drug to bodybuilders.
The raid triggered a series of enforcement actions that exposed the disturbing scale of pharmaceutical abuse in Telangana’s fitness industry.
A cardiac stimulant designed to stabilise failing hearts during surgery, Mephentermine Sulphate is a prescription medicine that can be administered only by a registered medical practitioner.
During long surgical procedures lasting six to eight hours, patients lie in medically induced comas under general anaesthesia, and their vital signs naturally decline. A normal heartbeat averages around seventy-two beats per minute, but under anaesthesia, it can fall to sixty or even fifty.
“When the heart rate decreases, the pumping of blood also decreases. During surgery, the anaesthesiologist monitors the patient’s vitals, and if the heart rate or pumping function drops too low, they administer Mephentermine Sulphate Injection. This helps raise the heart rate and stabilise the patient. That is the legitimate medical use of this drug,” a DCA inspector told South First.
Now, across gyms in Secunderabad, Mehdipatnam, Tolichowki, and several other neighbourhoods, this life-saving medication is being misused, officials said.
“After working out for an hour, lactic acid builds up and a person becomes exhausted, so they cannot maintain the same level of performance. To push beyond that fatigue, some coaches illegally inject this drug to artificially raise blood pressure,” the DCA inspector explained.
The effect is immediate and enticing. Someone who normally lifts one hundred kilograms may suddenly hoist one hundred and ten kilograms after injection, as blood pressure spikes and a temporary surge of strength sets in.
A runner who typically covers five kilometres may find themselves pushing through another two or three kilometres without the familiar burn of exhaustion.
“With one or two injections, blood pressure shoots up immediately, and people feel unusually energetic or powerful,” the inspector said.
But he also stressed that the drug does not build muscle or aid body growth. “That is a myth. It only increases endurance,” he added.
This misconception can prove deadly. Gym-goers often believe they are building muscle when, in reality, they are straining their cardiovascular systems to dangerous extremes, forcing blood pressure to unnatural levels to sustain performance their bodies cannot safely maintain.
For competitive bodybuilders, Mephentermine Sulphate serves a different purpose – one that has little to do with strength and everything to do with appearance.
“When these individuals participate in competitions, they often inject this drug two days beforehand. In such competitions, they need to display sharp muscle cuts, and the person with more defined cuts usually wins,” the inspector explained.
The injection acts as a strong diuretic, draining water from muscles to create the deeply etched, vascular look that judges reward.
“Because of this injection, the water content in the body reduces – it essentially drains water from the muscles. Some competitors take three or four injections, and as the body loses water, the muscle cuts become more visible, especially in areas like the shoulders,” the DCA inspector said.
“If the water is not drained properly, the cuts will not be clearly visible. That is why many people who participate in these events use this injection – they want to show sharper muscle definition.”
But the use of Mephentermine Sulphate often leaves visible signs.
“You can even see the marks – the pores and injection spots on their shoulders, buttocks, or thighs. From these marks alone, we can tell they have been injecting something,” the inspector noted.
The misuse has already had a marked impact.
“In the last one to two years, we’ve seen many gym-goers collapsing due to heart attacks. CCTV videos have surfaced showing people running on treadmills or working out when they suddenly collapse. Initially, people blamed the COVID vaccine, but doctors clarified that the causes were lifestyle, overexertion, and misuse of drugs like anabolic steroids and these stimulant injections,” the inspector said.
“You might have seen recent cases where gym-goers collapse due to heart attacks. We cannot say with certainty in each case, but when these injections are misused, they weaken the heart muscles. That can trigger a heart attack during intense workouts. This is one of the major reasons we are trying to curb this menace.”
Perhaps most disturbing, he said, is the ignorance among users. “What shocked us is that many gym-goers had no idea these injections could cause heart attacks. They believed the injections simply improved their stamina,” he said.
One user’s confession revealed the psychological side of the abuse.
“When I spoke to them and asked why they were using these, one person told me he takes the injection two hours before workout so he can forget his family problems and train perfectly for two or three hours. He was addicted to it. He didn’t know the cardiac risks. Even the coach had never warned him,” the inspector recalled.
“Ninety per cent of the people who take these injections don’t know they can suffer a heart attack. The coaches are also not guiding them,” the inspector said. “People think only about the temporary boost – they believe it helps them focus or train harder. In that hallucinated state, they keep taking the injection without understanding the consequences or the damage such anabolic substances cause.”
The DCA inspector said the misuse of Mephentermine Sulphate is not new. It has been happening for many years, but officials have only recently begun detecting more cases. What has changed, he explained, is not the practice but the ease of procurement.
“Local shops may not be selling it, but it is easily available online through platforms like IndiaMart and other apps. People from different cities list these injections online. When someone searches for it, the seller contacts them, collects their details and number, and then arranges the sale,” he said.
In the Namalagundu case, investigators traced the supply chain back to Cuttack in Odisha. “The gym trainer who purchased it sourced it from Cuttack, Odisha. These medicines are not coming from Hyderabad. They are getting them from other states—Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha—through individuals who list them online,” the inspector said.
The way the drug is used is equally troubling. “These individuals inject themselves – no doctor is involved. They get the drug from their coach and learn from the same coach how to inject it on their own,” he added.
Following the initial raid, the DCA launched a large-scale, coordinated operation. On 24 October, in partnership with local police, officers conducted surprise inspections at twenty gyms across Hyderabad – spanning Secunderabad, Banjara Hills, Jubilee Hills, Madhapur, Punjagutta, Narsingi, Kothapet, Kukatpally, Malakpet, Tolichowki, and Suraram.
“We always take police assistance because we don’t have our own informer system. The police have informers who track these activities, identify who is procuring such drugs, and also check vehicles during routine surveillance,” the inspector explained.
“The challenge is that people in gyms who misuse such injections and supplements are often extremely strong and sometimes behave aggressively. We are not trained to physically handle such situations, so we ask for police protection when we enter gyms.”
Under the influence of these substances, suspects can become unpredictable.
“Many of these individuals behave in a manic or high-pitched manner under the influence of these substances, and they can even harm us. We do not have the training to deal with such physically powerful individuals, so we rely on the police to manage the situation safely,” the inspector said.
The medical drug is also fuelling a lucrative underground economy.
“To maintain a bodybuilder’s physique, you need proper diet and supplements, which are expensive. People need ₹10,000–15,000 worth of supplements, proteins, chicken, and other foods every month, apart from gym fees,” the inspector said.
The profit margins are staggering. Trainers and dealers buy the injections online for ₹150–₹250, then sell them inside gyms for ₹1,000, ₹2,000, or even ₹3,000.
“When someone asks them how they built so much muscle, they offer these injections. Initially, they give two or three injections for free. When the person feels a temporary boost in strength, they start demanding money,” the inspector explained. “They run this racket to cover their own gym expenses and diet. It has turned into a kind of mafia.”
The problem is concentrated in certain types of facilities. “There is a difference between normal gyms and bodybuilding gyms. In weight-loss gyms, misuse of such injections is low. But in bodybuilding gyms, the usage is very high because people participate in competitions,” the inspector said.
Following the inspections, on 25 October, Director General Shahnawaz Qasim, IPS issued a comprehensive advisory to all retail and wholesale medical shops across Telangana, reiterating that Mephentermine Sulphate and anabolic-androgenic steroids are prescription drugs requiring valid prescriptions from registered medical practitioners.
The advisory warned of strict penalties, including cancellation of drug licences and prosecution under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, which carries imprisonment of up to five years for violations.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
