From running a travel and tour business in Himachal Pradesh to being convicted of possessing a commercial quantity of MDMA, or ecstasy, the story of 39-year-old Pankaj Sharma took a turn when the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested him with two postal parcels containing narcotics in Solan in July 2023.The investigation subsequently brought to light alleged plans for hydroponic cannabis cultivation and methamphetamine production, besides suspected links with Indian and foreign nationals in what the agency described as an international postal drug trafficking syndicate with connections to several European countries.Last week, the court of Special Judge Abhay Mandiyal in Solan sentenced Sharma, a resident of Upper Surya Vihar, Negi Colony, Khundidhar, to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh under Section 22(c) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. The court, however, acquitted him of charges under Sections 21 and 23, giving him the benefit of reasonable doubt.Sharma was arrested on July 5, 2023, outside the Head Post Office on The Mall in Solan, allegedly while collecting two parcels sent from the UK and France in the names of Dr Harish and Dr Ranjeesh. The NCB subsequently found that no such persons resided at the addresses mentioned on the parcels, according to the prosecution.For Sharma, who had started his tour and travel business in 2018-19, the case marked a dramatic departure from his earlier life. He had no previous criminal antecedents, according to an NCB officer.“Sharma, who was 36 when he was arrested in 2023, had started his tour and travel business in 2018-19 as he was fond of travelling. Occasionally, foreign nationals also visited his house in Solan,” a person close to the family told The Indian Express.Sharma married Russian national Liubor Bogacheva in 2020 after reportedly meeting her during a travel assignment in Lahaul-Spiti and Manali. His father, Krishan Lal Sharma, a retired Central government employee, died several years ago, while his mother, Savitri Sharma, is bedridden and undergoing dialysis for kidney ailments, the family acquaintance said.Story continues below this adPeople familiar with the proceedings said Bogacheva attended several hearings during the trial, which lasted around three years, before returning to Russia. An NCB officer confirmed that she was no longer in India.“He met the Russian woman during a travel trip and later married her in 2020. It was a court marriage. We learnt that his wife is no more in India. Earlier, she used to attend hearings in the Solan district court,” the officer said.Alleged links with foreign nationalsThe NCB investigation examined Sharma’s alleged links with Swedish national Aleks Ansgar Toolanen, Bengaluru resident Manan, alias Sunny alias Metallic, and Gaurav, a resident of Mamlig near Kunihar in Solan district.According to the agency, Toolanen was traced and summoned to join the investigation. A Look Out Circular (LOC) was also issued to prevent him from leaving India. However, the NCB officer said, investigators did not find evidence to prosecute him. No evidence was found to prosecute Gaurav either, while Manan remained untraced, according to the prosecution.Story continues below this adSpecial Public Prosecutor Ram Rattan Thakur said the forensic analysis of the material seized from a parcel intended for Toolanen did not establish that it belonged to the category of narcotics. Manan, meanwhile, remained absconding.Sources in the agency said Sharma had allegedly come into contact with Toolanen and Manan during his travel assignments to Lahaul-Spiti, Kullu-Manali and other destinations in Himachal Pradesh.“Alex Ansgar Toolanen and Pankaj Sharma were known to each other for the last six years. Alex had visited and stayed at Pankaj’s house in Solan many times,” a source said.According to the NCB, Sharma allegedly told investigators that he and the other men had discussed plans to cultivate cannabis through a hydroponic system. Investigators claimed that pipes required for the proposed cultivation had been purchased and kept on the roof of Sharma’s house. The agency alleged that the cultivation was to be carried out under the guise of growing “magic mushrooms”.Story continues below this adThe NCB further claimed that Sharma’s house had been selected because it was unoccupied. Investigators also alleged that the group had discussed manufacturing methamphetamine and planned to set up a laboratory in a mud house in Gambarpul, a village in Solan district. The alleged discussions about methamphetamine production had taken place around two weeks before the plan came under investigation, according to the agency.An NCB officer said the investigation had uncovered parcels sent to Solan from several European countries, including the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands, allegedly under the names of the two fictitious doctors.“We managed to prosecute only Pankaj Sharma and got him convicted by a court of law. It does not mean that all other suspects, including foreign nationals, were cleared by the probe agency. The investigation is continuing. We have the foreign addresses from where the parcels were sent to Solan,” the officer said.Local councillor among prosecution witnessesFormer local councillor Abhay Sharma, who represented the Khundidhar area, was among the 18 witnesses presented by the prosecution. He told investigators that no persons named Dr Harish and Dr Ranjeesh lived in his area, where the addresses mentioned on the parcels were located.Story continues below this ad“Sharma was the man whom we would never have suspected of being involved in a crime like drug trafficking. I do not know much about him, but he was in the tour and travel business and worked as a tourist guide. We also heard that he had gone abroad and returned. He was married to a Russian woman, who was here some time ago. I do not know her present status,” Abhay Sharma told The Indian Express.The defence, however, disputed the prosecution’s broader theory and alleged procedural lapses in the investigation.Advocate Rakesh Chaudhary, who represented Sharma, said his client had been booked under Sections 21, 22, 23 and 29 of the NDPS Act, but charges were framed only under Sections 21, 22 and 23. The court ultimately acquitted Sharma under Sections 21 and 23 and convicted him under Section 22(c).“My client was arrested on the basis of dummy parcels. There were procedural lapses on the part of the NCB. There is no money trail between my client and any foreign national. We will appeal against the conviction in the High Court,” Chaudhary said.Sharma has been lodged in Central Jail, Nahan, in Sirmaur district, since his arrest in 2023. Prosecutor Thakur said that, having already spent around three years in custody, Sharma would have approximately seven years of his 10-year sentence left to serve, subject to the applicable rules and any further court orders.