A 22-year-old Roma man pleaded guilty in federal court to bringing 121 pounds of meth into the U.S. Agents caught him at the Roma Port of Entry at 3 in the morning.
Axcel Ediel Marquez crossed the bridge from Miguel Aleman, Mexico on March 8, 2026. He drove a grey 2013 Ford Explorer. He told border agents he was just bringing the car over to drop it off.
CBP sent him to secondary. Officers noticed something off with the floor. They lifted the carpet. They found hidden doors with hinges. Inside were 53 packages wrapped in brown tape. All of it tested positive for meth. The total was 55.04 kilograms, about 121 pounds.
Agents read Marquez his rights. He kept talking. He said the car was his aunt's. But he could not name her. He could not describe her. He said his aunt told his mother to drop the car behind the IBC Bank in Roma and leave the keys. His mother passed that along to him. The aunt's husband would come pick it up.
"They won't pay me anything," Marquez told agents. "I do it as a favor."
Federal records told a different story. CBP data showed Marquez had crossed the same SUV into Mexico months before. Agents showed him the records and a photo. He first said no. Then he said he "might have crossed but doesn't remember."
Agents found Marquez had also been stopped in January 2025 near Hebbronville for a suspected alien smuggling incident. He was not charged then.
A McAllen grand jury indicted him in April 2026. On June 25, 2026, he pleaded guilty to one count of importing a controlled substance. There was no plea deal.
He faces 10 years to life in federal prison. Sentencing is October 1, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. in McAllen.
