An Arizona cocaine trafficker was sentenced to five years in prison on Thursday, officials said.
The attorney general’s office said that Ismael Alejandro Ortiz has pleaded guilty to attempting to transport a narcotic substance for sale.
In addition to his prison sentence, Ortiz was sentenced to pay $4,500 in reparations to the State Anti-Racketeering Revolving Fund.
“My office will continue to prosecute those who transport dangerous drugs into Arizona communities,” Attorney General Kris Mayes stated in a release.
Ortiz used a mobile barbershop bus as cover to transport around 12.9 pounds of cocaine on July 29, 2025, according to prosecutors.
Meta’s messaging network, WhatsApp, was used to conduct the heroin trade.
“This is yet another case facilitated on a big tech billionaire’s social media platform,” Mayes said to reporters. “Arizonans can track cases where social media companies are used to enable and facilitate illegal activities on our website.”
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