Man jailed for attempting to smuggle 88,000 Captagon pills

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a February State Security Court (SSC) ruling, sentencing a man to over seven years in jail for possessing and trafficking illicit drugs in April of last year.

The court declared the defendant guilty of possessing over 88,000 Captagon pills with the intent of transporting the illegal narcotics to Saudi Arabia from Jordan and handed him seven and a half years in prison.

The SSC also ordered the defendant to pay JD5,000 in fines.

Court documents said the defendant was approached by a drug dealer who asked him to transport illegal narcotics to Saudi Arabia in return for around JD13,000.

 “The defendant agreed and the man stashed around 88,000 Captagon pills in his trailer,” court documents said.

The defendant was stopped on the Jordanian border before crossing into Saudi Arabia, according to court transcripts.

Upon searching his vehicle, court papers added, security officers found the illegal narcotics hidden in secret pockets in his vehicle and arrested him.

The SSC’s attorney general  had asked the higher court to uphold the sentence against the defendant, stating that the court abided by the proper legal procedures when sentencing the defendant.

The defendant contested the interrogation procedures and argued that “the SSC did not rely on solid evidence when implicating the defendant”.

Nonetheless, the higher court maintained that the SSC followed proper proceedings in the issuance of the sentence against the defendant.

The Court of Cassation bench comprised judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Naji Zu’bi, Yassin Abdullat, Bassem Mubedin and Saeed Mugheid.