2 drug dealers handed prison terms ranging from 4-5 years

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a February State Security Court (SSC) ruling, sentencing two drug dealers to prison terms ranging from four to five years in prison after convicting them of selling illegal narcotics to an undercover agent in Irbid in February 2021.

The court declared the defendants guilty of possessing and selling illegal narcotics (Hashish) to an Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) agent on February 8, and handed them the maximum sentence.

The two defendants received four and five years in prison respectively for the charges.

The SSC also ordered the defendants to pay fines of JD4,000 and JD5,000.

Court documents said AND investigators learned that the defendants were in possession of illegal narcotics and sent one of its agents to pose as a buyer.

“The AND agent suggested paying JD55 for the illegal drugs,” court documents said.

The defendants met with the AND agent to complete the deal but when they discovered that he was “a police officer they sped off in their vehicle”.

“The defendants then fired at the AND force, and there was a brief exchange of fire,” the court maintained.

The defendants ended up crashing their vehicle and were arrested, the court added.

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

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

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

“It was clear to the court that the defendants confessed willingly to possessing the illegal drugs,” the higher court said.

The presiding Court of Cassation judges were Mohammad Ibrahim, Hayel Amr, Fawzi Nahar, Ibrahim Abu Shamma and Majid Azab.