Cassation Court upholds over 6 years in prison for drug dealer

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a June State Security Court (SSC) ruling, sentencing a man to six years in prison after convicting him of possessing over 1,000 Captagon pills in January 2023.

The court declared the defendant guilty of attempting to sell illegal narcotics to an undercover agent on January 15.

The SSC handed the defendant a six-year prison term for the offence of possessing illegal narcotics and ordered him to pay JD6,000 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 the buyer.

When the defendant was arrested, officers found a small stash of Hashish on him in addition to 1,010 Captagon pills in total, the court said.

The defendant confessed to possessing illegal narcotics to sell in the local, the court stated. 

The defendant contested the SSC’s ruling through his lawyer, who argued that his client denied any wrongdoing.

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 in the local market,” the higher court said.

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