Drug smuggler handed 7 years in prison

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld an October State Security Court (SSC) ruling, sentencing a drug dealer to seven years in prison after convicting him of smuggling illegal narcotics into the Kingdom in March 2021.

The court initially declared the defendant guilty of smuggling narcotics illegally from Syria to Jordan in March 2022 and handed him a 10-year prison term, alongside a JD10,000 fine. 

However, the court later reduced the prison term to seven years and the fine to JD7,000 to “give the defendant a second chance in life”.

According to court documents, the Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) learned that the defendant had been involved in a smuggling operation from the Syrian side and placed him under surveillance.

On March 15, the defendant smuggled illegal drugs from Syria to Jordan in exchange for JD10,000.

“The AND agent followed the defendant and arrested him with the illegal shipment,” court documents said.

The defendant’s lawyer contested the SSC’s ruling arguing that the court “did not provide solid evidence to implicate his client”.

The SSC’s prosecution office asked the higher court to uphold the sentence and fine.

The higher court maintained that the SSC had followed the proper sentencing procedures.

“It was clear to the court that the defendant willingly confessed to possessing illegal drugs without being subjected to any form of duress,” the higher court said.

The Cassation Court bench comprised judges Yassin Abdullat, Nayef Samarat, Hammad Ghzawi and Qassem Dughmi.