Cassation Court upholds 3-year sentence for drug dealer

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

The court declared the defendant guilty of sending an undercover agent a stash of hashish on June 16.

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) received a tip that the defendant and the second man who was also convicted on the same charges but did not appeal his verdict were selling illegal drugs in the local market.

The law enforcement agency tasked three officers to contact the two men with the pretence that they wanted to buy illegal drugs, according to court transcripts.

The defendants and front the undercover officers that they plan to meet in an apartment in the Jubeiha neighbourhood, the court maintained.

“The AND agent met with the two defendants inside the apartment where they were paid JD15 for a stash of hashish,” court documents said.

Once the delivery was made the officer notified two other agents who were outside the apartment to raid the premises and arrested the two men, court papers added.

Upon searching the defendants, court papers said, AND personnel found a Variety of illegal narcotics and the defendants’ possession".

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 lawyer argued that  The court did not take into consideration that his client retracted his confessions.

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 with the intent of selling it in the local market,” the higher court said.

The Court of Cassation judges were Yassin Abdullat, Nayef Samarat, Mohammad Khashashneh, Qassem Dughmi and Hammad Ghzawi.