Yvette Porras-Ochoa, a 42-year-old resident of Wittmann, Arizona, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison by United States District Judge Steven P. Logan. Porras-Ochoa pleaded guilty on August 22, 2024, to charges including conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and prescription controlled substances such as oxycodone and promethazine-codeine, as well as conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Porras-Ochoa led an Arizona-based drug trafficking organization that distributed significant quantities of cocaine and prescription drugs. She used the authorization of an Arizona-licensed medical practitioner to fraudulently obtain prescription drugs and recruited others to collect these from pharmacies in the state. The drugs were then sold alongside cocaine to customers outside Arizona. Payments for these transactions were arranged in sophisticated ways to avoid detection, with some proceeds laundered through real estate deals.

The investigation into Porras-Ochoa's activities lasted a year and a half, during which investigators seized large quantities of drugs linked to her operations. These included 884.2 grams of oxycodone, 33,330 units of promethazine-codeine, 4,690 units of alprazolam, 27,200 units of tramadol, 63,900 units of midazolam, and 2.96 kilograms of cocaine.

This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation aimed at dismantling high-level drug traffickers and criminal organizations threatening the United States. OCDETF employs a multi-agency approach that combines federal, state, and local law enforcement efforts against criminal networks.

"The Drug Enforcement Administration," along with "Homeland Security Investigations," "the United States Postal Service," "the Arizona Department of Public Safety," and "Phoenix Police Department" conducted the investigation leading to Porras-Ochoa's conviction.