Cassation Court upholds 4 years prison term for drug dealer

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld an August 2022 State Security Court (SSC) ruling, sentencing a drug dealer to four years in prison after convicting him of selling over 900 pills to a police officer in 2022.

The court declared the defendant, who had been previously convicted of handling illegal narcotics, guilty of selling 990 Captagon pills to an undercover agent in an area in Amman on January 20.

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 JD4,000 and the prison term to four years 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 to provide him with 990 Captagon pills in return for JD750,” court documents said.

When the two met on the designated day and time, AND agents immediately arrested the suspect, court papers added.

Upon searching the defendant, court papers said, AND personnel found a mobile the defendant used to contact the law-enforcement officer". 

The defendant confessed to possessing illegal narcotics to sell the pills in the local market, the court added.

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 sentence against the defendant.

“It was clear to the court that the defendant confessed willingly to possessing the illegal drugs to sell it in the local market,” the higher court said.

The Court of Cassation judges presiding were Mahmoud Ebtoush, Nayef Samarat, Mohammad Khashashneh, Qassem Dughmi and Hammad Ghzawi.