Man handed 4-year-prison term for drug possession

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a November State Security Court (SSC) ruling, sentencing a drug dealer to four years in prison after convicting him of possessing illegal narcotics in November 2019.

The court declared the defendant guilty of obtaining around two kilos of Hashish at Jaber Crossing Border on November 24 with the intent of selling the drugs in the local market and handed him a five-years prison term.

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

The SSC handed the defendant a three-year prison term for the offence of possessing illegal narcotics.

The court also ordered the defendant to pay JD5,000 in fines.

Court documents said that the defendant, and three other men who were tried and convicted on the same charges, were arrested at the Jaber Border Crossing following a routine checkup.

Customs and Anti-Narcotics Department agents positioned at the border crossing point searched the men and found the illegal narcotics hidden in one of the defendants’ jackets, according to court papers.

“The illegal narcotics were hidden in a secret pocket in the jacket,” court documents said. 

The defendants confessed that they bought the illegal narcotics in Lebanon and “that they wanted to sell it in the Jordanian market,” court papers said.

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 defence team also argued that the defendant had no knowledge of the illegal drugs’ presence in the seized jacket and, therefore, he should be declared innocent of the charges.

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,” the higher court said.

The Court of Cassation judges presiding were Mohammad Ibrahim, Hayel Amr, Fawzi Nahar, Mohammad Kashashneh and Nayef Samarat.