U.S. Coast Guard, HSI Seize $6.4 Million Cocaine Shipment From Oil Tanker At Los Angeles Port

U.S. authorities seized 500 pounds (226 kilograms) of cocaine worth about $6.4 million from a crude oil tanker at the Port of Los Angeles after uncovering an alleged maritime smuggling operation linked to a Mexican drug cartel.

The operation involved the Liberia-flagged crude oil tanker Aquatravesia, a 133,000-deadweight-ton vessel owned in Greece that was travelling from Ecuador to the United States.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the U.S. Coast Guard and other federal agencies boarded the tanker on May 21 after it arrived at an assigned anchorage position near Los Angeles.

A Coast Guard narcotics detection dog alerted officers to suspected contraband, and authorities later confirmed the cargo was cocaine.

HSI arrested Ceasar Tubay Gelacio Jr., a 43-year-old Philippine national working on the vessel. He was charged with importation of a controlled substance.

If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Two other individuals were also taken into custody.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, crew members found several suspicious packages hidden inside the ship’s garbage room during the voyage.

The vessel’s captain then questioned crew members and was allegedly told the drugs belonged to Gelacio.

MASSIVE COCAINE BUST.@HSI_HQ and @USCG seized 500 pounds of cocaine worth $6.4 MILLION from a crude oil tanker at the Port of Los Angeles.

Under @POTUS Trump and @SecMullinDHS, we will continue keeping this poison OUT of our country. pic.twitter.com/NrXrmYknvL

— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) May 23, 2026

Authorities said the cocaine was loaded onto the vessel in Ecuador and was meant to be handed over to a Mexican drug cartel while the tanker was sailing near Mexican waters.

Prosecutors said cartel members planned to collect the drugs using a small boat about 80 nautical miles offshore on the night of May 14 or early May 15.

Authorities also said the cartel warned that if the transfer failed, other boats would intercept the tanker in Mexican waters and recover the shipment.

The captain reportedly told U.S. authorities that the vessel was receiving radio calls believed to be from cartel members trying to contact the ship before the planned transfer.

U.S. authorities later instructed the tanker to continue sailing to the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex, where federal agents boarded the vessel and seized the cocaine shipment.

Eddy Wang, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Los Angeles, said the operation prevented more than 226 kilograms of cocaine from reaching U.S. communities and formed part of efforts to target transnational criminal organisations using ports and maritime transport systems for drug smuggling.

Captain Stacey Crecy, commander of Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach, said the seizure showed coordination between U.S. agencies working to stop maritime drug trafficking operations while protecting commercial shipping activity.

DHS said HSI has seized more than 917,000 pounds of cocaine in 2025, while the Coast Guard has seized more than 511,000 pounds this year, more than three times its annual average.

References: DHS