Suspected drug dealer arrested in east Amman

AMMAN — Police on Sunday said they arrested a suspected drug dealer following a car chase in east Amman earlier in the day.

The suspect was arrested at around 1am following a brief car chase by a traffic patrol vehicle, Public Security Department (PSD) Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi said.

The police official added the suspect was in the passenger seat of a vehicle along with three other men who refused to stop when asked to pull over by a traffic patrol.

“The suspects’ vehicle hit a parked car then kept driving; the traffic patrol spotted the incident and attempted to stop them but they refused,” Sartawi told The Jordan Times.

The car sped off, he noted, but crashed into another parked vehicle and its passengers fled on foot.

“The traffic patrol officers chased the men and managed to arrest one of them, who turned out to have 37 judicial records in drug trafficking,” Sartawi said.

An Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) official said the three suspects are known to the department.

“We have a good idea of their identities and it is a matter of time before we arrest them,” the AND official told The Jordan Times.

Upon searching the vehicle, police found 13 blocks of hashish, 13 bags that contained marijuana and illegal narcotic pills, according to a PSD statement.

Police also found equipment used in robberies and several car licence plates, the statement said.

“Police ran the vehicle’s number in their database and discovered that the plates were fake and the vehicle was wanted by the South Amman Police Station,” the PSD statement added.

The suspect was referred to the State Security Court prosecutor for further questioning and indictment, according to Sartawi.