Man handed 3-year prison term for selling illegal narcotics

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a March State Security Court (SSC) ruling, sentencing a drug dealer to three years in prison after convicting him of selling illegal narcotics to an undercover agent in Irbid in January 2020.

The court declared the defendant guilty of possessing and selling Captagon pills and illegal narcotics to an Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) agent on January 13 and handed the maximum sentence.

The defendant was arrested seven months later by AND agents, the court added.

The SSC also ordered the defendant to pay JD1,500 in fines.

Court documents said AND investigators learned that the defendant was in possession of illegal narcotics and sent one of its agents to pose as a buyer.

“The AND agent purchased the illegal drugs in return for JD10,” court documents said.

The defendant remained under surveillance and was “eventually arrested several months later”, the court documents 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 sentences 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 Mohammad Ibrahim, Hayel Amr, Fawzi Nahar, Ibrahim Abu Shamma and Majid Azab.