Man Caught Hiding 500lbs Cocaine in LA

Ceasar Tubay Gelacio Jr., a 43-year-old Philippines national, was arrested after U.S. authorities seized 227 kilograms, or about 500 pounds, of cocaine from an oil tanker headed to the Los Angeles area, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. Federal prosecutors said the crude oil tanker Aquatravesia was inbound from Ecuador to El Segundo when the drugs were found. The criminal complaint charges Gelacio with importation of a controlled substance. Prosecutors said the narcotics were intended for delivery to a Mexican drug cartel. May 22, 2026, is when the Justice Department announced the case, one day after the ship was directed to anchor in the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex and boarded by law enforcement, according to the department. The department said the case began after authorities were told earlier in May that the vessel was carrying kilogram quantities of drugs. The complaint is an allegation, and Gelacio is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. (justice.gov) ### How did investigators say the cocaine got onto the ship? The Aquatravesia’s last port of call was Ecuador, and prosecutors said Gelacio received the cocaine there before the ship headed north, according to the complaint. The tanker is Greek-owned and Liberian-flagged, the Justice Department said. Crew members later found numerous packages hidden in the ship’s garbage room that contained suspected narcotics. (justice.gov) The ship’s captain interviewed crew members after the packages were discovered and determined that Gelacio possessed the drugs, according to prosecutors. The captain then moved the narcotics to another room and notified authorities, the Justice Department said. ### What did prosecutors say was supposed to happen off Mexico? (justice.gov) Mexican waters were the planned handoff point, according to the affidavit summarized by prosecutors. The captain was told that small naval craft carrying armed cartel members would be waiting about 80 nautical miles from shore on the evening of May 14 and into the early morning of May 15, the Justice Department said. If that transfer did not happen, additional craft would wait in Mexican waters to board the tanker and recover the drugs, prosecutors said. (justice.gov) Radio calls believed to be from the cartel were received before any attempted boarding or takeover, the captain told authorities, according to the Justice Department. Maritime Executive, citing Homeland Security and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, reported that the vessel was then directed to continue to the Port of Los Angeles instead of making any offshore transfer. (justice.gov) ### Where was the ship stopped, and what did agents recover? Los Angeles-Long Beach port waters were where the Aquatravesia anchored on May 21 after U.S. law enforcement directed the vessel there, prosecutors said. Once agents boarded, they recovered about 227 kilograms of cocaine, according to the Justice Department. Homeland Security used a detection canine to confirm the drugs and search the tanker, Maritime Executive reported. (justice.gov) Homeland Security valued the seized cocaine at about $6.4 million, according to Maritime Executive. The Justice Department did not include a street-value estimate in its release, but it did identify the seized amount as roughly a quarter ton. ### What charge does Gelacio face, and what penalty was cited? (justice.gov) Importation of a controlled substance is the sole charge listed in the federal criminal complaint announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The Justice Department said Gelacio was arrested on May 21 and was scheduled to make his initial appearance the afternoon of May 22 in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles. (maritime-executive.com) A conviction on that charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum of life, according to Maritime Executive’s account of the Justice Department case. The next public step identified by prosecutors was Gelacio’s initial court appearance in Los Angeles federal court. (maritime-executive.com) (justice.gov)