A federal judge sentenced a 41-year-old Pharr resident to 20 years in prison for attempting to sell narcotics to undercover agents, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office. 

Paublo Rueben pleaded guilty Friday to a charge of selling, distributing or dispensing a controlled substance. He was ordered to immediately serve 240 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release.

During the hearing, the court heard about Rueben's extensive criminal history, and how he was on state probation for a narcotics charge at the time of this offense.

According to the criminal complaint, special agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration orchestrated an undercover operation in February 2022 where they negotiated the purchase of three kilograms of meth and two kilograms of cocaine from a narcotics supplier located in Mexico.

The undercover agents met with Rueben and a second man — identified as 46-year-old Hector Vasquez Garcia from Alamo — who agreed to deliver the drugs.

Shortly after the deal was made, law enforcement located the vehicle Rueben traveled in and conducted a search. Meth and cocaine were located in a hidden compartment, and authorities took both Rueben and Garcia into custody.

Rueben will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Garcia is set to be sentenced on March 29. He remains in custody pending the hearing, according to the release.