Drug dealer jailed for 5 years

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a November State Security Court (SSC) ruling, sentencing a drug dealer to five years in prison after convicting him of possessing illegal narcotics in Ramtha in August 2020.

The court declared the defendant guilty of obtaining illegal narcotics on August 25 with the intent of selling the drugs in the local market.

The SSC handed the defendant a five-year prison term for the offence of possessing illegal narcotics and resisting arrest.

The court also ordered the defendant to pay JD4,000 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 a stash of illegal drugs, which he bought for JD15,” court documents said.

The AND agents monitored the defendant for a while and in July 2020 they raided his house to arrest him, court documents said.

“The defendant resisted arrest and fired several rounds at the security force and they aborted the arrest operation,” court documents added.

A month later, the court maintained, the “AND agents raided the defendant’s house again and arrested him”.

Upon searching his house, court papers said, AND personnel found "hidden illegal narcotics in the house, with some that were rolled in foil paper ready to be sold in the local market". 

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

The defence also argued that the prosecution failed to provide any evidence to prove that the defendant fired live ammunition at the AND agents.

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 illegal drugs,” the higher court said.

The Court of Cassation judges presiding were Mohammad Ibrahim, Majid Azab, Fawzi Nahar, Hayel Amr and Ibrahim Abu Shamma.