Drug dealer handed 5-year jail term

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a May State Security Court (SSC) ruling, sentencing a drug dealer to five years in prison after convicting him of possessing illegal narcotics in Ramtha two years ago.

The court declared the defendant guilty of obtaining illegal narcotics (hashish) with the intent of selling the drugs to an undercover agent on May 18.

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.

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 a small stash of illegal drugs in return for JD20,” the court documents said.

Few weeks later, AND agents stormed the defendant’s house and found eights bags of illegal narcotics, the court papers said.

“The law-enforcement officers also found an electronic scale used to weigh the illicit drugs and a mobile phone that included incriminating messages," according to the court documents. 

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 defence lawyer also charged that his client was subjected to “torture and duress in order to confess that he is a drug dealer”.

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 Cassation Court bench comprised judges Mahmoud Ebtoush, Nayef Samarat, Mohammad Khashashneh, Hammad Ghzawi and Qassem Dughmi.