Drug dealer handed over 3 years in jail

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld an April 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 Amman in 2021.

The court also declared the defendant guilty of obtaining illegal narcotics with the intent of selling the drugs in the local market in mid-November.

The SSC first handed the defendant five years in prison and ordered him to pay JD5,000 in fines.

However, the court decided to reduce the sentence to three years and four months and ordered him to pay JD3,500 in fines.

Court documents said the Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) learned that 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 illegal drugs in return for JD70,” the court documents said.

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

Upon searching the defendant, according to the court papers, AND personnel found additional illegal narcotics on him". 

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 law-enforcement agency tricked my client by sending one of its officers to pose as a buyer,” the lawyer charged.

In addition, the lawyer also claimed that “my client was subjected to duress in order to get a confession statement he had no idea of its content”.

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 without being subjected to any form of duress,” the higher court said.

The Court of Cassation judges presiding were Mohammad Ibrahim, Qassem Dughmi, Majid Azab, Mohammad Khashashneh and Hammad Ghzawi.