Cassation Court upholds over 4 years in prison for drug dealer

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a January 2023 State Security Court (SSC) ruling, sentencing a drug dealer to four years in prison for possessing five Captagon pills in Amman in July 2022.

The court declared the defendant guilty of selling the illegal pills to an undercover agent in the Marka neighbourhood on July 12.

The SSC handed the defendant a five-year prison term for the offence of possessing illegal narcotics and ordered him to pay JD5,000 in fines.

However, the court reduced the prison term to four years and the fine to JD4,000 to give the defendant a second chance in life.

Court documents said the Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) learnt the defendant was in possession of illegal narcotics and sent one of its agents to pose as a buyer.

“The AND agent got in touch with the defendant and asked him for five Captagon pills in return for JD10,” court documents said.

When the two met, AND agents immediately arrested the suspect, court papers added.

The defendant confessed to possessing the illegal pills to sell in the local market, court papers said. 

The defendant contested the SSC’s ruling through his lawyer, who argued that the court “did not provide solid evidence to implicate his client”.

Meanwhile, the SSC prosecution office asked the higher court to uphold the sentence and the fine imposed on the defendant.

The higher court maintained that the SSC had followed the proper procedures in issuing the sentences against the defendant.

“It was clear to the court that the defendant confessed willingly to possessing the illegal drugs to sell in the local market,” the higher court said.

The Court of Cassation judges presiding were Yassin Abdullat, Nayef Samarat, Hammad Ghzawi, Qassem Dughmi and Mohammad Khashashneh.