Navy and Coast Guard vessels and aircraft worked jointly to intercept and apprehend a vessel they suspected of smuggling narcotics Jan. 13. The operation took place in the “4th Fleet area of responsibility,” which includes Caribbean Sea and Atlantic and Pacific ocean waters near Mexico and Central America, according to the Navy. During the operation, the frigate Rentz dispatched an SH-60B antisubmarine patrol helicopter to chase down the small, open-hull go-fast vessel in international waters. A Coast Guard law-enforcement detachment then boarded the vessel, and found some 690 pounds of cocaine. The team detained three crewmembers and turned them over to Ecuadorian authorities because the mission took place in international waters.