Man sentenced to 18 months for narcotics possession

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a June 2023 State Security Court (SSC) ruling, sentencing a man to 18 months in prison after convicting him of possessing illegal narcotics in Amman.

The court declared the defendant guilty of possessing a small quantity of Crystal meth near Queen Alia International Airport.

The SSC handed the defendant 18 months in prison and ordered him to pay JD1,000 in fines.

Court documents said the Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) learnt the defendant was in possession of illegal narcotics and placed him under surveillance.

 On the day of his arrest, the court maintained, an AND patrol followed the defendant and pulled him over for inspection.

“The AND agents found a small quantity of Crystal meth,” court documents said.

The law enforcement officers escorted the defendant to his house and upon searching his home they found a small quantity of hashish. court papers added.

Crystal meth is the common name for crystal methamphetamine, a strong and highly addictive drug that affects the central nervous system, according to WebMD (https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/crystal-meth-what-you-should_know#1).

The defendant contested the SSC’s ruling through his lawyer, who argued that the court “did not allow the defendant the right to present his defence arguments”.

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 sentence against the defendant.

“It was clear to the higher court from court transcripts that the SSC followed the proper legal procedures and asked the defendant if he wished to present any defence evidence or statements,” the higher court said.

The defendant notified the SSC that he had no defence evidence and “did not wish to present any statements", the higher court stated.

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