A Mexican man who ran a sex trafficking ring in Texas has been sentenced to 40 years in a U.S. prison.

Gerardo Salazar of Mexico City was sentenced Monday in Houston. Salazar in October pleaded guilty to four counts of harboring illegal immigrants for the purpose of prostitution.

Prosecutors say the 51-year-old Salazar led a sex ring linked to Houston-area bars, using girls and women from Mexico who were deceived and threatened into becoming prostitutes. Investigators believe the ring began operating in early 2004.

Salazar, dubbed "the Rooster," was indicted in 2005 in Texas, arrested in 2010 in Mexico and extradited in 2014.