Rebecca C. Lutzko United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio
A Mexican national, Jaime Ortega-Urquidi, was sentenced on Mar. 13 to more than 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to drug trafficking and illegal reentry charges in Northeast Ohio.
Ortega-Urquidi, age 63, received a sentence of 188 months from U.S. District Judge John R. Adams following his November 2025 guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute cocaine and illegal reentry after removal due to a prior aggravated felony conviction.
According to court documents, Lorain police officers stopped a vehicle on May 28, 2025, where Ortega-Urquidi was a passenger. A drug detection K-9 alerted officers to the presence of illegal drugs in the vehicle. Officers then found approximately 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, specifically supplying local dealers in Lorain. Authorities also determined that Ortega-Urquidi was illegally present in the United States at the time of his arrest; he had previously been removed from the country in October 2017 after serving a sentence for similar drug offenses.
The case was investigated by multiple agencies including 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, described as a nationwide initiative utilizing Department of Justice resources aimed at combating illegal immigration and eliminating cartels and transnational criminal organizations.
