Four handed death sentence for killing anti-narcotics officer

AMMAN — The State Security Court (SSC) on Monday sentenced four people to death for killing an officer of the Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) in September 2015 in Aqaba, 330km south of the capital.

The four were convicted of resisting employees tasked with enforcing the Anti-Narcotics Law, which resulted in the death of an employee, and possession of automatic weapons with the intention of illegal use that resulted in the death of a human, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The court handed a one-and-a-half-year imprisonment term to another man, convicting him of possessing a weapon without a licence. 

It also declared two other defendants not guilty.

Meanwhile, AND personnel several days ago arrested three suspects involved in a drug dealing case and confiscated large amounts of narcotics, a Public Security Department (PSD) statement said Monday.

AND agents tracked down the suspects after receiving a tip-off that they were going to store large amounts of narcotics and smuggle them outside the Kingdom. 

The AND personnel raided a house in east Amman and found the three suspects hiding 2.3 million narcotic pills inside car tyre rims, the PSD statement said, adding that the cadres also found a firearm and discovered that a fourth accomplice was involved, the search for whom is still ongoing. 

In previous remarks to The Jordan Times, an AND official said the Syrian conflict, the refugee crisis and unrest in surrounding countries are to blame for the new illicit drug smuggling methods the Kingdom has been witnessing over the past few years.

In recent incidents, suspected drug smugglers have resorted to using sheep, car tyres, biscuit packets, packages of sweets, olives, large marble blocks, door closers, book covers and children’s beds to hide illegal narcotics.

Ninety-five per cent of the illicit drugs smuggled into the Kingdom are destined for neighbouring countries, according to AND.