Solan, Oct 4 — A Special NDPS court in Solan district in Himachal Pradesh sentenced a drug trafficker who procured narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances through international postal parcels to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 1 lakh, an NCB official said on Sunday.
Pankaj Sharma, a resident of Solan, Himachal Pradesh, was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Chandigarh Zonal Unit, which secured his conviction in the case Crime No. 16/2023 dated July 4, 2023, said the official in a statement.
Special Judge-II, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, sentenced Sharma on Saturday after convicting him under Section 22(c) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, for possession of a commercial quantity of MDMA, the statement said.
On July 4, 2023, NCB, Chandigarh, received specific intelligence regarding an international postal parcel originating from the United Kingdom and suspected to contain narcotic drugs/psychotropic substances, the statement said.
After obtaining due authorisation for controlled delivery under Section 50A of the NDPS Act, the NCB team recovered the original contents of the parcel, comprising 4.7 grams of cocaine, and thereafter conducted the controlled delivery operation at the Head Post Office, Solan, it said.
Pankaj Sharma took delivery of the said parcel and was apprehended on the spot. A second parcel originating from France, collected by him at the same time, was searched, leading to the recovery and seizure of 56.2 grams of MDMA — more than five times the commercial quantity of 10 grams notified for MDMA under the NDPS Act, the NCB said.
The operation also led to the identification of a third parcel, originating from Germany and intended for delivery to the accused, from which a further 4.4 grams of cocaine was recovered, it said.
Investigation revealed that the accused was procuring drugs from multiple European countries through international postal channels. A complaint under the relevant provisions of the NDPS Act was filed before the Special Judge, Solan, on December 19, 2023, the NCB said.