FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The U.S. Coast Guard is offloading about 3,200 pounds of cocaine seized during a recent patrol of the Caribbean Sea.

Fifty bales of cocaine valued at about $100 million arrived at Port Everglades aboard a Coast Guard cutter Thursday morning.

According to the Coast Guard, an aircrew conducting patrols in the western Caribbean Sea sighted a suspicious go-fast boat off the coast of Nicaragua traveling north March 18. When the smugglers knew they had been detected, they began dumping bales of cocaine overboard.

"As soon as they saw us bring out our sniper rifle, that's when the bales started going off the vessel," Lt. Steven McCollough said.

McCollough said they fired two rounds into the go-fast boat's engine and then another round, at which point the vessel began to slow down, but the smugglers eventually made it to the waters of Nicaragua and got away.

"We're very proud to keep 1.6 tons away from the people who would have cut it and, most likely, five to eight tons of cocaine off the streets of America," Cmdr. Wes Pulver said.

According to the Coast Guard, they seized a record $4.7 billion worth of cocaine in 2007.