Drug dealer handed over 3 years in prison

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 Madaba in January 2022.

The court declared the defendant guilty of obtaining illegal narcotics (crystal meth) with the intent of selling it to an undercover agent on 21 January 2023.

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

However, the court later 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”.

According to court documents, the Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) received a tip that the defendant was a known local drug dealer who was selling illegal narcotics to his neighbours, after which AND the law-enforcement agency sent one of its agents to pose as a buyer.

“The AND agent got in touch with the defendant and asked him for a small stash of Crystal meth in return for JD25,” court documents said.

When the two met, AND agents made the exchange and the defendant was placed under surveillance, court papers added.

Two weeks later, during the arrest and search of the defendant, AND officers found 80 Captagon pills in his possession, the court maintained.

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

The defendant’s lawyer contested the SSC’s ruling arguing that the court “did not provide solid evidence to prove that his client was selling illegal narcotics at the time of his arrest”.

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 sentence against the defendant.

“It was clear to the court that the defendant confessed willingly to possessing 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.