USS RODNEY M. DAVIS, At Sea (NNS) -- While on patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, units assigned to the U.S. Navy's 4th Fleet and the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted a fishing vessel carrying more than 4 metric tons of cocaine Dec 5.
The combined team of USS Rodney M. Davis (FFG 60), with embarked Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light (HSL-43) Det. 2, and U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) 106 intercepted the fishing vessel in an early morning interdiction, capturing nine suspected narcotics smugglers and the large cargo of cocaine with an estimated import value of $90 million.
A search of the vessel revealed the large amount of cocaine. The narcotics were seized under the authority of the Coast Guard LEDET.
The coordinated actions of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and Joint Interagency Task Force-South (JIATF-S) were instrumental to the successful interdiction of narcotics.
Rodney M. Davis, homeported in Everett, Wash., is currently deployed in Latin America under the operational control of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command (NAVSO) and U.S. 4th Fleet, conducting counter illicit trafficking operations in support of JIATF-South, U.S. law enforcement and U.S. and participating nations' drug control policy.
Rodney M. Davis is also supporting the U.S. Maritime Strategy by conducting theater security cooperation (TSC) events in the Caribbean and Latin America. TSC encompasses a robust strategy that includes military-to-military exchanges, multi-national exercises and training, diplomatic port visits, community relations activities and Project Handclasp distributions.