Houston Man Sentenced to 14 Years for Cocaine Conspiracy

A 44-year-old Houston man has been sentenced to 14 years and 2 months in prison for his role in a cocaine conspiracy that spanned two years and multiple countries.

Apolinar Ortiz Islas, also known as “Polo”, was found guilty of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine following a three-day trial in October 2013.

Evidence at trial established that Ortiz-Islas was the Houston-based source of cocaine for a group of Canadian drug traffickers from New Brunswick, Canada. The Canadian traffickers would smuggle hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash into Northern Maine and have it transported to Houston where it was used to pay Ortiz-Islas for kilograms of cocaine. The cocaine would then be transported back to Maine and smuggled into Canada.

Ortiz-Islas was arrested in Houston in September 2012 as he attempted to deliver ten kilograms of cocaine to an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a courier for the Canadian drug traffickers.

The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations Office in Houlton, Maine, with assistance provided by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Houston, Texas, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced the sentence, which was handed down on August 13 in U.S. District Court in Bangor. Contact Joel B. Casey, Assistant U.S. Attorney, for more information at (207) 945-0373.

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