ABOARD USS CARR, At Sea (NNS) -- Units assigned to U.S. 4th Fleet and the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted a high-speed "go-fast" vessel carrying more than one ton of cocaine Aug. 18.
The combined team of USS Carr (FFG 52), with embarked Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (Light) (HSL) 42 Det 8, was patrolling the Caribbean Sea when they intercepted a vessel in the middle of the night, capturing three suspected narcotics smugglers and the large cargo of cocaine with an estimated inport value of $22 million.
A search of the vessel revealed more than 45 bales of cocaine, which was seized by U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) 409 as evidence in preparation for criminal prosecution.
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.
Carr, homeported in Norfolk, Va., is currently deployed in the Caribbean under the operation control of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command (NAVSO) and U.S. 4th Fleet, conducting counter illicit trafficking operations in support of JIATF-S, U.S. Law Enforcement, and the U.S. and participating nations' drug control policy.
Carr is also supporting the U.S. Maritime Strategy by conducting Theater Security Cooperation (TSC) events, such as Community Relation (COMREL) projects, throughout Latin America.