Man jailed for drug possession

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a September State Security Court (SSC) ruling, sentencing a drug dealer to five years in prison after convicting him of possessing illegal narcotics in Mafraq in March 2019.

The court declared the defendant guilty of obtaining 220 grammes of hashish and 2,990 Captagon pills on March 10 with the intent of selling the drugs in the local market.

The SSC also ordered the defendant to pay JD5,000 in fines.

Court documents said the Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) learnt the defendant along with seven other defendants, who did not appeal their verdicts, were plotting to smuggle illegal narcotics to Saudi Arabia.

“The AND agents monitored the men and raided the home of the defendant — who appealed his verdict — and found the illegal narcotics on a counter,” court documents said.

AND agents also found several mobile devises in his possession, “which they determined were used to organise the drug smuggling operation without being detected by the authorities”.

The defendant was immediately arrested and referred to the SSC prosecution for further investigation.

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

“My client did not admit to the charges during interrogation and the trial proceedings,” the lawyer argued.

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.

The Court of Cassation judges presiding were Mohammad Ibrahim, Ahmad Qatawneh, Hayel Amr, Fawzi Nahar and Mohammad Khashashneh.