A Portland man who was part of a drug ring that smuggled more than a kilogram of cocaine from Massachusetts to the Portland area between 2010 and 2013 has been sentenced to nearly 15 years in federal prison.

George Noonan, 51, was the head of the ring’s daily operations in Maine and faced an enhanced sentence in U.S. District Court in Portland as a career offender because this was his third felony drug trafficking conviction, according to court records.

Noonan was sentenced by Judge George Singal on Tuesday to serve 176 months in federal prison followed by eight years of supervised release for charges of distribution of cocaine and conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

Noonan and his group became targets of a federal wiretap investigation for their operation between early 2000 and the day of his arrest on June 14, 2013, court records state.

As a head of the ring, Noonan arranged to purchase cocaine in Massachusetts and sometimes traveled personally to get the cocaine from the supplier, according to a prosecution document.

“Noonan communicated with people wanting to purchase cocaine from him by telephone call, text message, and in person,” Assistant U.S. Attorney David Joyce wrote in the document. “The majority of the transactions occurred from Noonan’s apartment in Portland.”

Noonan pleaded guilty last Nov. 19 as part of a plea agreement in which eight other cocaine-related charges were dismissed.

Scott Dolan can be reached at 791-6304 or at:

sdolan@pressherald.com

Twitter: @scottddolan