Ammon News - The Court of Cassation has upheld a June State Security Court (SSC) ruling sentencing an inmate to three years in prison after convicting him of attempting to smuggle narcotics into a correctional and rehabilitation facility in Zarqa in January 2019.

The court declared the defendant, T. A., guilty of attempting to smuggle five pieces of hashish and 27 Captagon pills into a prison in Zarqa on January 11.

The SSC also ordered the defendant to pay JD2,500 in fines.

Court documents said the defendant and three others, who did not appeal their verdicts, decided to smuggle narcotics into the facility they were serving time at.

On the day of the incident, the court maintained, the defendant, T. A., was informed by one of the three other defendants that some narcotics were stashed in a towel in the bathroom of a hospital he was visiting that day.

“The defendant went to the bathroom and found the towel and the illegal substances as instructed,” court papers said.

However, the defendant was arrested after Preventive Security Department officials received a tip-off about the illegal operation and arrested him, according to court documents.

The defendant contested the SSC’s ruling through his lawyer, arguing that the “court depended on an inmate’s confession against him”.

However, the higher court maintained that the SSC followed the right procedures while issuing the sentence against the defendant.

The Court of Cassation judges presiding were Mohammad Ibrahim, Hammad Ghzawi, Nayef Samarat, Saeed Mugheid and Mohammad Khashashneh.