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AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld an October 2023 State Security Court (SSC) ruling, sentencing a drug dealer to five years in prison after convicting him of possessing a large quantity of illegal narcotics in March 2023.
The court declared the defendant guilty of obtaining illegal narcotics (hashish) with the intent of selling the drugs to an undercover agent on March 16.
The SSC handed the defendant five years in prison for the offence of possessing illegal narcotics and ordered him to pay JD5,000 in fines.
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 three kilogrammes of Hashish and 1,000 Captagon pills in return for JD4,450,” court documents said.
When the two met, AND agents immediately arrested the suspect, court papers added.
Upon searching the defendant, court papers said, AND personnel found a mobile that was “used in the drug deal between the defendant and the AND officers".
The defendant contested the SSC’s ruling through his lawyer, who argued that the court had “irregularities in the investigation procedures”.
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 illegitimate drugs with the intent of selling the illegal narcotics in the local market,” the higher court said.
The Court of Cassation judges were Yassin Abdullat, Nayef Samarat, Hammad Ghzawi, Mohammad Khashashneh and Qassem Dughmi.
