Man handed over 3 year-prison term for drug possession

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a March State Security Court (SSC) ruling, sentencing a drug dealer to over three years in prison after convicting him of possessing illegal narcotics in Amman last year.

The court declared the defendant guilty of obtaining illegal narcotics (Captagon) with the intent of selling the drugs to an undercover agent on September 5.

The SSC handed the defendant a five-year prison term for the offence of possessing illegal narcotics, and ordered him to pay JD5,000 in fines.

However, the court decided to reduce the prison term to three years and four months in prison, and ordered him to pay JD3,000 in fines.

The court stated that it decided to reduce the sentence "to give the defendant a second chance in life".

Court documents said that 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 JD10,” the court documents said.

When the two met on September 5, the defendant handed the AND agent seven Captagon pills.

The AND agents did not arrest the defendant at that point, the court maintained.

Two months later, the court documents said, the defendant was arrested by AND agents while in his home.

Upon searching the defendant, AND personnel found around “60 additional Capatagon pills and some other illegal drugs in his possession" the 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”.

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

The Court of Cassation judges presiding were Mohammad Ibrahim, Ahmad Qatawneh, Majid Azab, Mohammad Khashashneh and Yassin Abdullat.