A Mexican national has been sentenced to federal prison for illegally entering the United States and then trafficking kilogram-quantities of cocaine in Northeast Ohio.
Jaime Ortega-Urquidi, 63, was sentenced to 188 months (15 years and 6 months) in prison by U.S. District Judge John R. Adams after pleading guilty in November 2025 to the following charges:
- Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine, with Notice of Prior Serious Drug Felony Conviction and
- Illegal Reentry of Alien Following Removal, with Notice of Prior Aggravated Felony Conviction.
According to court documents, on May 28, 2025, Lorain police officers conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle in which Ortega-Urquidi was a passenger. During the stop, a drug detection K-9 alerted to the odor of illegal drugs in the vehicle. Officers searched the vehicle and found cocaine weighing approximately two kilograms. Officers also seized more than $29,000 in cash.
During further investigation into Ortega-Urquidi, law enforcement discovered he was part of an organization that smuggled kilograms of cocaine across the US-Mexico border. The organization then shipped the cocaine from Texas to Ohio, where Ortega-Urquidi distributed it to local drug dealers in the city of Lorain…