Six jailed for 15 years for arms, drugs possession

AMMAN — The State Security Court (SSC) on Tuesday sentenced six defendants, part of a gang dubbed the “Kamaliyah group”, to 15 years imprisonment on charges of criminal conspiring and possession of illegal drugs and automatic weapons.

According to the Jordan News Agency, Petra, the SSC said the defendants have criminal records and are wanted on several charges related to arms trafficking, drug abuse and assaults on citizens.

On August 1, 2012, eight members of the gang were arrested in a raid in Kamaliyah neighbourhood in Sweileh, northwest of Amman.

One of the group members was killed and several others injured in the raid, during which the two suspects reportedly escaped with a citizen’s vehicle and had been on the run since then.

A joint team from the Jordan Armed Forces, Public Security Department and the Gendarmerie Department took part in the August 1 operation, in which over 7,000 shots were fired, according to a police statement issued at the time, which added that the group was heavily armed and the exchange of gunfire lasted for several hours.

After their arrest, police officials described the suspects as an “evil gang that intended to terrorise people”.

The group’s members were indicted by the SSC prosecutor on charges of forming an armed gang to commit criminal acts, possessing automatic weapons with illicit intent, attempted murder, possession of illegal drugs and molestation.