An official judicial official source revealed that the number of drug trafficking cases have risen significantly in the last four months, reaching 115 cases in Damascus Criminal Courts and 620 cases in all Syrian provinces.
The source added that during the past few months, there has been a remarkable increase in cases related to drug trade, and said gangs trading in substances have been arrested in the provinces of Damascus and Homs.
The source confirmed that there had been nearly 120 cases in the province of Aleppo, while 100 cases have been recorded in Homs province during the past months. The source said that 2013 did not witness a significant rise in drug trafficking cases, with less than 500 cases of traffickingrecorded in all the criminal courts in Syria.
The source noted that Law No. 2 of the year 1993 specifies that drug trafficking carries a sentence of between 10 years and death and explained that whoever plants narcotics such as cannabis, poppy and cocoa is considered a drug trader.
The source confirmed that the law sympathizes with addicts as a victim of dealers aiming to spread this scourge in society without any regard to values and ethics, pointing out that the judge has the right exercise discretion with each case carrying its own circumstances, causes, motives and problems.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
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