Drug dealer sentenced to over 3 years

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation upheld a March 2022 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 November 2021.

The court declared the defendant guilty of obtaining illegal narcotics (Crystal meth and cocaine) with the intent of selling the drugs to an undercover agent on November 12.

The SSC handed the defendant five years in prison for the offence of possessing illegal narcotics near the Airport Road 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 in prison to give the defendant “a second chance in life”.

Court documents said the Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) learned 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 small stash of Crystal meth in return for JD400,” the court documents said.

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

“AND agents found 3 grammes of cocaine and 5 grammes of Crystal meth in the defendant’s possession,” the court papers added.

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

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 claimed that “my client was tricked by law-enforcement officers to commit a crime by soliciting illegal narcotics from him”.

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 followed the proper procedures in issuing the sentence. “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 Mohmmad Ibrahim, Fawzi Nahar, Majid Azab, Hayel Amr and Mohammad Shreiri.