Cairo’s appellate felony court postponed until 6 December the appeal of a defendant convicted at first instance of trafficking drugs in the Azbakeya area of Cairo.[1] The defendant, 25-year-old Youssef A., had been sent to criminal trial after prosecutors charged him with possessing hashish with intent to sell outside legally permitted cases.[1] The first-degree verdict had punished him with six years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of 200,000 pounds.[1]

The case began when an Azbakeya police officer’s secret inquiries concluded the man was dealing narcotics, leading the officer to obtain arrest permission from the prosecution.[1] Officers moved to the defendant’s location, arrested him and, on searching him, found a cardboard box containing five large pieces of hashish, as well as a sum of money and a mobile telephone.[1] A chemical laboratory report established that the seized material was five pieces of hashish listed in Schedule One of the narcotics law, weighing 506 grams.[1]