Drug dealer handed over 3 years in prison

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a July 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 March 2022.

The court declared the defendant guilty of obtaining illegal narcotics (crystal meth) with the intent of selling the drugs to an undercover agent on March 3.

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

Court documents said the Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) received a tip that the defendant possessed illegal narcotics with the intent of selling them in the local market.

The law-enforcement agency assigned one of its officers to pose as a buyer, the court documents added.

“The AND agent got in touch with the defendant and asked him for a small stash of crystal meth in return for JD60,” court documents said.

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

Upon searching his house, the court maintained, the law-enforcement agency officers found additional drugs including hashish, Captagon pills and a small quantity of sedatives.

Crystal meth is the common name for crystal methamphetamine, a strong and highly addictive drug that affects the central nervous system, according to WebMD (https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/crystal-meth-what-you-should_know#1).

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 lawyer also argued that the illegal narcotics found with the defendant “was meant for personal use and not to sell in the local market”,

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,” the higher court said.

The Court of Cassation judges presiding were Mohammad Ibrahim, Majid Azab, Hayel Amro, Ibrahim Abu Shamma and Mohammad Shreiri.