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Ammon News - The Court of Cassation upheld an August State Security Court (SSC) ruling, sentencing two Syrian men to three years in prison after they were convicted of obtaining illegal narcotics and entering the country illegally.

The court declared the defendants guilty of possessing a small amount of Captagon pills and other illegal narcotics in February 2021 as well as entering the country illegally and handed them the maximum punishment.

The court also ordered each of the defendants to pay JD1,000 in fines.

Court documents said the defendants had previous criminal records and wanted to come to Jordan.

As a result, the court maintained, “they infiltrated into the country and stayed at a house belonging to a Jordanian where they were all in possession of illegal narcotics”.

The defendants were all arrested by Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) agents who had received a tip-off that they had illegal narcotics in their possession.

Upon searching the house, court papers said, the AND personnel found "Captagon and other illegal narcotics in the premises".

The defendants confessed willingly to “crossing into Jordan illegally and obtaining the illegal narcotics”, court documents said.

The two defendants contested the SSC’s ruling through their lawyer, who argued that the court “did not provide solid evidence to implicate his clients”.

The five other men, including four Syrians, did not contest their verdicts at the Court of Cassation.

Meanwhile, the SSC prosecution office asked the higher court to uphold the sentence and the fine imposed on the defendants.

The higher court maintained that the SSC had followed the proper procedures in issuing the sentences against the defendants.

“It was clear to the court that the defendants confessed willingly to possessing the illegal drugs and crossing the border illegally,” the higher court said.

The Court of Cassation judges presiding judge was Yassin Abdullat and included judges Hayel Amr, Majid Azab, Ibrahim Abu Shamma and Nayef Samarat.