Drug dealer sentenced to five years in prison

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a December State Security Court (SSC) ruling, sentencing a drug dealer to five years in prison after convicting him of possessing illegal narcotics with the intent of selling it in the local market in June 2022.

The court declared the defendant guilty of obtaining illegal narcotics (Crystal meth) on June 13.

The SSC sentenced the defendant to five years in prison 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 along with another man, who did not appeal his verdict, were in possession of illegal narcotics and placed them under surveillance.

“The AND agents arrested both men and found 220 grammes of Crystal myth and a small amount of cocaine in their possession,” the court documents said.

The two defendants confessed to possessing the illegal narcotics with the intent of selling the drugs in the local market, the court papers added.

Crystal meth is the common name for crystal methamphetamine, a strong and highly addictive drug that affects the central nervous system, according to WebMD, a website for health information.

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 also claimed that his client “was in possession of the illegal narcotics for his personal use and did not deserve this harsh punishment”.

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