Cassation Court upholds over 6-year sentence for drug dealer

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a January State Security Court (SSC) ruling sentencing a drug dealer to six years in prison after convicting him of possessing illegal narcotics and resisting arrest in Amman in September of last year.

The court declared the defendant guilty of possessing illegal narcotics at his home in Marka with the intent of selling the drugs in the local market on September 2.

The SSC handed the defendant a punishment of six years in prison and ordered him to pay JD5,000 in fines.

Court documents said the Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) learnt the defendant was in possession of illegal narcotics and placed him under surveillance.

“The AND agents contacted the defendant and asked him for a five-pill Captagon supply in return for JD10,” court documents said.

The exchange of illicit drugs happened as agreed and the undercover police officer left, the court said.

The law-enforcement agency placed the defendant under surveillance for six months, the court added.

On September 2, the court maintained, a special force decided to arrest the defendant while in the street.

“The defendant pulled a gun and threatened one police officer with it and following a brief struggle over the weapon, a bullet was fired striking the law-enforcement personnel,” the court said.

Upon searching the defendant, the police officers found “an amount of hashish, Captagon pills, crystal meth and 57 unspent bullets in his possession”.

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

The defence also charged that the court handed the defendant a high sentence “and my client deserves clemency by the court”.

The lawyer also charged that the defendant had no “knowledge that he shot a police officer and that his actions were in self-defence”.

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 to sell it in the local market,” the higher court said.

Therefore, the higher court maintained that the defendant deserved the punishment he received.

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