Seafarer Pleads Guilty to Concealing Cocaine on Tanker for Mexican Cartel
A Philippine seafarer who had been working as an able-bodied seaman on an oil tanker pleaded guilty in a Los Angeles district court on July 13 to concealing nearly 200 kilograms of cocaine for a drug cartel. It was an elaborate plot to transport the cocaine from Ecuador and have cartel members receive it in Mexican waters.
The U.S. Attorney’s office reports the plot went astray in May when the ship’s crew found the drugs concealed in garbage bags in the ship’s trash room. It was reported to the captain, who took control of the drugs and determined they were in the possession of Cesar Tubay Gelacio, Jr., a 43-year-old working aboard the ship.
An unknown person, only identified as “Luis,” approached Gelacio, who agreed to conceal the cocaine on the vessel. It was loaded in Ecuador, and he concealed the drugs in the trash room and in his cabin.
The authorities reported the plot called for the drugs to be offloaded to a small boat with armed members of the Mexican cartel when the Liberian-flagged tanker named Aquatravesia was approximately 80 nautical miles from shore on the evening of May 14 or early morning of May 15. They reported that if the drugs were not delivered at that time, additional boats would be waiting, and the cartel would board the tanker and recover the contraband.
The captain of the tanker informed the U.S. authorities, who directed the ship into the anchorage at the San Pedro ports complex. They boarded the ship, confiscated the drugs, and arrested Gelacio.
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During the trip, the captain reported that they had received what he believed were radio calls from the cartel. He believed they were attempting to hail the Aquatravesia prior to boarding or taking over the ship.
Gelcaio is scheduled to be sentenced on October 19. He will face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
