With high-tech measures in place along the southern border, drug cartels have returned to their old tricks—and some new ones—to sneak illegal drugs into the country.
They are using cars, tunnels, drug boats and crude oil tankers to move millions of dollars’ worth of cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine through U.S. ports of entry.
In May, Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Coast Guard seized 500 pounds of cocaine from a crude oil tanker in the Port of Los Angeles.
California’s spiraling drug and homelessness problem has become a flashpoint of state politics and Tuesday’s primary election. For the first time years, two Republican candidates, Steve Hilton for governor and Spencer Pratt for Los Angeles mayor, are projected to move on to the November run-off.
On May 21, HSI Los Angeles, along with the Coast Guard, teamed up to bust the Motor Tanker Aquatravesia, a Greek-owned, Liberian-flagged crude oil tanker, in Los Angeles.
A Coast Guard narcotics canine alerted the agents to the illicit cargo, and the team recovered the suspected cocaine, worth approximately $6.4 million, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
“This operation highlights Homeland Security Investigations’ unwavering commitment to combating transnational crime and safeguarding the United States from illicit narcotics,” said Eddy Wang, HSI Los Angeles Special Agent in Charge.
Federal authorities learned the drugs were intended for a Mexican cartel but interdicted it anyway, Fox News Digital reported.
HSI arrested a suspected drug smuggler, and two others were taken into custody.
Ceasar Tubay Gelacio Jr., 43, of the Philippines, was charged with importation of a controlled substance, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced.
Authorities were notified that the Aquatravesia, which departed from Ecuador, was traveling to the United States carrying a large shipment of drugs intended for a Mexican cartel, according to court documents.
Crew members allegedly discovered numerous packages hidden inside the ship’s garbage room that were determined to be cocaine. The ship’s captain interviewed crew members and learned the drugs allegedly belonged to Gelacio, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
The captain was allegedly told cartel members would be waiting roughly 80 nautical miles offshore to retrieve the drugs while still in Mexican waters, according to the complaint.
Instead, U.S. authorities intercepted the tanker and directed it to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, where law enforcement boarded the vessel.
Along with sealing the southern border, the Trump administration has taken a multi-prong approach to choke off transnational cartels trying to smuggle deadly drugs into the United States.
“The success of this narcotics seizure is a testament to the coordinated efforts of the DHS enterprise to dismantle the efforts of drug smugglers under our respective authorities and responsibilities,” said Captain Stacey Crecy, Sector Commander at Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach.
Several federal agencies, including HSI, the Coast Guard, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, are on a record-setting pace when it comes to drug seizures in the last year.
This includes HSI’s seizure of over 917,000 pounds of cocaine in 2025, as well as accelerated counter-narcotics operations along the southern border.
The Coast Guard has seized over 511,000 pounds of cocaine in 2025, which is over three times the Service’s annual average. The Coast Guard continues to carry out counter-narcotics operations in the Eastern Pacific through Operation Pacific Viper.
“HSI’s and the Coast Guard’s persistent operations and rapid response have denied criminal organizations billions in illicit revenue and prevented the flow of dangerous drugs into American communities,” DHS officials said.
CBP has also announced several major drug busts at ports of entry, particularly in southern California and Texas.
A routine commercial truck inspection led to a massive meth bust on April 14 at a California border crossing in San Diego. CBP officers confiscated over 3,000 pounds of methamphetamine worth nearly $5 million on the street.
CPB has also taken 100 million lethal doses of fentanyl off streets under the Trump crackdown. Officers in CBP’s San Diego Field Office seized almost 10 pounds of fentanyl powder, DHS shared in an update on the historic drug seizures.
