An influential leader of an international drug gang was sentenced in Boston for attempting to traffic narcotics into Massachusetts while incarcerated. Noel Haro, 50, received a sentence of 188 months in prison, which will run concurrently with his existing life sentences. U.S. Senior District Court Judge William G. Young also imposed five years of supervised release.
Haro pleaded guilty on March 11, 2025, to charges including conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl. He was indicted alongside his brother Marcos Haro in April 2023.
“Even behind bars, Noel Haro continued to direct the operations of an international drug trafficking network,” said United States Attorney Leah B. Foley. “Our office and our agency partners will not allow prison cells to serve as command centers for criminal activity.”
Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Division, commented on the case: “While locked up for life, Noel Haro thought he had nothing more to lose… but today’s lengthy prison sentence shows he could not have been more wrong.”
Shawn Jenkins, Commissioner of the Department of Correction (DOC), stated: “This case underscores our commitment to rooting out criminal activity within our facilities.”
Noel Haro is a member and leader of the “Border Brothers” gang involved in drug trafficking between Southern Arizona and Nogales, Mexico. He was transferred from Arizona to Massachusetts due to security concerns.
The investigation into Haro began around April 2019 when he attempted to recruit friends and family members via inmate phone calls for drug trafficking activities.
In April 2022, a letter intercepted by the DOC revealed coded instructions for drug trafficking using a Monopoly game card as a key. This led to further investigations involving his brother Marcos and co-conspirator Denise Guyette.
Guyette received an 11-year sentence after pleading guilty to drug trafficking offenses in April 2025. Marcos Haro pleaded guilty on March 19, 2025, with sentencing scheduled for July 17, 2025.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Foley along with FBI SAC Docks and MADOC Commissioner Jenkins. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alathea E. Porter and Charles Dell’Anno prosecuted the case under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation.
