Court upholds 2 years in prison for drug dealer

AMMAN — Court of Cassation has upheld a January State Security Court (SSC) ruling, sentencing a man to over two years in prison after convicting him of possessing illegal narcotics in Amman in August 2022.

The Court declared the defendant guilty of obtaining a variety of illegal narcotics for personal use on August 7. The SSC sentenced the defendant 32 months in prison and ordered a payment of JD2,800 in fines.

Court documents stated the Anti-Narcotics Department learnt the defendant had illegal narcotics and placed him under surveillance.

On the day of his arrest, the court maintained that “the police arrested the suspect in front of his home in Hashmi Shamali”.

The law-enforcement agency officers searched the defendant’s house and vehicle, and found a variety of illegal narcotics including Hashish, Captagon pills, and Crystal meth, among other illegal products.  

The defendant confessed to possessing the illegal drugs, telling investigators that the quantity he possessed was “for personal use”, according to court transcripts.

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

Court of Cassation judges presiding were Yassin Abdullat, Nayef Samarat, Hammad Ghzawi, Qassem Dughmi and Mohammad Khashashneh.