Drug dealer imprisoned after selling crystal meth to undercover officer

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a September State Security Court (SSC) ruling sentencing a drug dealer to over three years in prison after convicting him of selling illegal narcotics to an undercover agent in Amman in January 2022.

The court declared the defendant guilty of obtaining illegal crystal methamphetamine with the intent of selling the drugs to an undercover law enforcement officer on January 8.

The SSC initially handed the defendant five years in prison for the offence and ordered him to pay JD5,000 in fines.

However, the court decided to reduce the fine to JD3,500 and the prison term to three years and four months to “give the defendant a second chance in life”.

The Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) learned that the defendant was in possession of illegal narcotics and sent one of its officers to pose as a buyer.

“The AND officer got in touch with the defendant and asked him for a small stash of crystal meth in exchange for JD30,” court documents said.

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

Crystal meth is a common name for crystal methamphetamine, a strong and highly addictive substance that affects the central nervous system, according to WebMD.

The defendant’s lawyer contested the SSC’s ruling by arguing that the court “did not provide solid evidence to implicate his client”, requesting a reduced the prison term because the defendant “supports a family and deserves a second chance in life”.

The lawyer also argued that “the defendant did not sell drugs to any citizen, so he does not deserve this harsh punishment”.

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 sentencing the defendant.

“It was clear to the court that the defendant willingly confessed to the possession of the illegal drugs,” the higher court said.

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