Cassation Court upholds over three-year sentence for drug dealer

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a March 2022 State Security Court (SSC) ruling, sentencing a drug dealer to over three years in prison after convicting him of selling illegal narcotics to a law enforcement officer in Amman in November 2021.

The court declared the defendant guilty of obtaining 1 gramme of Crystal meth with the intent of selling the illegal narcotics to an undercover agent in Sahab on November 29.

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 in prison to give the defendant a second chance in life.

Court documents said the Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) learnt 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 one gramme of Crystal in return for JD35,” court documents said.

The law enforcement officer used a coded sentence of wanting to buy “some grammes of sugar”, according to court documents.

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

Upon searching the defendant, court papers said, AND personnel found a mobile chip that contained the number he used to contact the AND agent".

The defendant contested the SSC’s ruling through his lawyer, who argued that “my client possessed the illegal narcotics for personal use and should get a reduced punishment”.

The lawyer argued that the court relied on contradictory statements by the prosecution witnesses.

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.