Man jailed for 2 years for narcotics possession

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation upheld a July State Security Court (SSC) ruling, sentencing a drug dealer to two years in prison after convicting him of possessing illegal narcotics in Amman in January 2022.

The court declared the defendant guilty of obtaining illegal narcotics with the intent of selling the drugs to an undercover agent on January 6.

The SSC handed the defendant a two-year prison term for the offence and ordered him to pay JD2,000 in fines.

Court documents said the Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) learned that the defendant, along with three other men who did not appeal their verdicts, was in possession of illegal narcotics and placed him under surveillance.

“The law enforcement officials raided the defendant’s house and found a variety of illegal drugs, including hashish and Captagon pills,” the court documents 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”.

“My client possessed a small amount of illegal narcotics, which were for personal use. He was not intending to sell any illicit drugs in the local market,” the lawyer argued.

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 Cassation Court bench comprised judges Mahmoud Ebtoush, Fawzi Nahar, Ibrahim Abu Shamma, Majid Azab and Mohammad Shrairi.