Farm guard caught with illegal narcotics, sentenced to 10 years in prison

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation upheld a July State Security Court (SSC) ruling sentencing a farm guard in Maan to 10 years in prison after convicting him of possessing and trafficking illegal narcotics in April of last year.

The court declared the defendant guilty of possessing around 8 kilogrammes of hashish and 4,000 Captagon pills on April 2, and handed him a 15-year prison term.

However, the SSC decided to reduce the sentence to 10 years in prison to “give the defendant a second chance in life”.

 Court documents said that Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) agents received a tip-off that the defendant, who guarded a farm in the town of Manshieh, was a drug dealer and possessed an undisclosed amount of illegal narcotics.

“AND agents headed to the farm, but saw the defendant driving his vehicle before reaching their destination and pulled him over,” court papers said.

Upon searching the defendant and his vehicle, the court continued, agents found the illegal narcotics.

The defendant confessed willingly and freely to “planting the illegal narcotics and smuggling them to a neighbouring country,” court documents said.

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

The lawyer also charged that “his client should be acquitted because the SSC prosecution relied on ‘illusory evidence’”.

Meanwhile, the SSC prosecution office asked the higher court to uphold the sentence and fine imposed against the defendant.

The higher court maintained that the SSC had followed the right procedures in issuing the sentences against the defendant.

“It was clear to the court that the defendant confessed willingly to possessing the illegal drugs and the court also relied on the law enforcement officials’ testimony regarding his possession of the drugs and their legal investigation procedures,” the higher court said.

The Court of Cassation judges presiding were Mohammad Ibrahim, Naji Zu’bi, Yassin Abdullat, Bassim Mubeidin and Nayef Samarat.