AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a September 2022 State Security Court (SSC) ruling, sentencing a drug dealer, who was affiliated with a regional gang, to 10 years in prison for possessing illegal narcotics in July 2020.

 

The court declared the defendant guilty of obtaining illegal narcotics with the intent of selling the drugs to an undercover agent on July 21.

 

The SSC handed the defendant 10 years in prison for the offence of possessing illegal narcotics and ordered him to pay JD10,000 in fines.

 

Court documents said the Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) received a tip that the defendant, who had affiliations with an international gang, was in possession of Crystal meth and placed him under surveillance.

 

The law-enforcement agency decided to send one of its agents to pose as a buyer, the court added.

 

“The AND agent got in touch with the defendant and asked him for 700 grammes of Crystal meth in return for JD19,000,” court documents said.

 

When the two met, AND agents immediately arrested the suspect, court papers added.

 

Upon searching the defendant’s home, officers found additional illegal narcotics and a mobile that investigators determined later contained the numbers used to contact the international drug dealers, the court added.

 

The defendant contested the SSC’s ruling through his lawyer, who argued that the court had not provided sufficient evidence to implicate his client with the charges.

 

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 in the local market,” the higher court said.

 

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