A Mexican national, Jaime Ortega-Urquidi, was sentenced on Mar. 13 to more than 15 years in federal prison for illegally entering the United States and trafficking large amounts of cocaine in Northeast Ohio.
Ortega-Urquidi, age 63, received a sentence of 188 months from U.S. District Judge John R. Adams after pleading guilty in November 2025 to possession with intent to distribute cocaine and illegal reentry following removal, both with notice of prior felony convictions.
According to court documents, Lorain police stopped a vehicle on May 28, 2025, where Ortega-Urquidi was a passenger. A drug detection dog alerted officers to drugs inside the car. Police then found about two kilograms of cocaine and seized more than $29,000 in cash. Further investigation revealed that Ortega-Urquidi was part of an organization smuggling kilograms of cocaine across the US-Mexico border and distributing it from Texas to Ohio. He supplied local drug dealers in Lorain while being present illegally in the country after previously being removed in October 2017 for another drug conviction.
The case was investigated by the FBI Cleveland Division, Lorain Police Department, U.S. Border Patrol-Sandusky Bay Station, and Elyria Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney James Lewis prosecuted the case for the Northern District of Ohio.
This prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America, which aims to use all resources available to combat illegal immigration and eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations.
