US Seizes Cocaine and Arrests Crewmember from a Tanker Arriving at LA Port
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, working with U.S. Coast Guard and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, seized 227 kg of cocaine and arrested a Philippine national crewmember from a Greek-owned tanker after in anchored at the Port of Los Angeles. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the drugs were first discovered by crewmembers on the ship but were being transported for delivery to a Mexican drug cartel that planned to take them from the ship at sea.
The crude oil tanker Aquatravesia (133,000 dwt), registered in Liberia, was northbound from Ecuador, where it had departed on May 8. The Attorney’s Office reports crewmembers discovered numerous packages hidden in the ship’s garbage room that contained the suspected narcotics. The captain was informed of the discovery and took control of the packages. He notified the U.S. authorities.
The captain interviewed the crewmembers, and a 43-year-old Filipino working on the ship, Ceasar Tubay Gelacio, confessed to possessing the drugs.
The plan was for the Mexican drug cartel to send a small boat to a position 80 nautical miles from the shore. They were told the operators of the boat would be armed, and the tanker was to meet up with the small boat on the evening of May 14 or the morning of May 15. The cartel members reportedly would take control of the packages. The tanker was told, however, that if it failed to make the handover at the assigned time, the cartel would chase down the vessel while still in Mexican waters and retake their contraband.
The captain of the tanker told U.S. authorities that he believed the vessel was receiving radio calls from the cartel attempting to hail the ship. He believed they were planning to board or take over the tanker.
Drug packages were discovered in the tanker's garbage room (US Attorney's Office, Central District California)
U.S. law enforcement directed the Aquatravesia to navigate to the Port of Los Angeles. They were assigned a position to anchor in, and when they arrived at the position on Thursday, May 21, the U.S. agents boarded the tanker.
that matters most
Get the latest maritime news delivered to your inbox daily.
Homeland Security reports it used a detection canine to confirm the drugs and to search the tanker. They seized 500 pounds (226 kg) of cocaine, which they said was worth approximately $6.4 million.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office had Gelacio arrested. He is being charged with importation of a controlled substance. If convicted, he would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison.