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227 kg cocaibe seized on tanker
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 crew member of thr ' Aquatravesia'. The drugs were first discovered by crew members 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 tanker Aquatravesia was northbound from Ecuador, where it had departed on May 8, 2026. The crew members 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 crew members, and thr 43-year-old Filipino 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 planned to 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 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. U.S. law enforcement directed the 'Aquatravesia' to proceed to the Port of Los Angeles. They were assigned a position to anchor in, and when they arrived at the position on May 21, U.S. agents boarded the tanker. Homeland Security used a detection canine to confirm the drugs and to search the tanker. They seized 226 kg of cocaine, which was worth approximately $6.4 million. The U.S. Attorney’s Office had Gelacio arrested. He was 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.
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