MIAMI -- The Coast Guard on Thursday unloaded the latest stash of cocaine nabbed from smugglers off the Eastern Pacific Ocean - all 26.5 tons of it.

The cocaine, which weighs about as much as four male elephants, was seized in 27 separate missions, plus five bale recovery operations. It has an estimated street value of $715 million wholesale.

U.S. Coast Guard Vice Admiral Karl Schultz speaks during a news conference where they announced that more than 26 tons of cocaine worth at least $715 million had been seized by the Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) (AP)

The Coast Guard, Royal Canadian Naval Crews and interagency partners took the drugs from smuggling boats found along the coasts of Central and South America. Boasts suspected of smuggling are tracked by military or law enforcement, but the boarding of the ship is done by U.S. Coast Guardsmen.

"This not only showcases the threat posed by dangerous cartels, gangs and criminal groups that make up extensive transitional organized crime networks, but it also highlights the commitment of the Coast Guard and its interagency partner's efforts to detect, interdict, investigate and prosecute operatives for these criminal networks," said Vice Adm. Karl Schultz, commander, U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area, in a statement.

1 / 6Coast Guardsmen stand over pallets containing more than 26 tons of cocaine worth at least $715 million on the flight deck of of 418-foot Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)(AP) 2 / 6A pallet of cocaine is off-loaded from the 418-foot Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. More than 26 tons of cocaine worth at least $715 million was brought ashore Thursday following multiple recent seizures by the U.S. Coast Guard and the Royal Canadian Navy in the eastern Pacific. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)(AP) 3 / 6Pallets containing more than 26 tons of cocaine worth at least $715 million sit on the flight deck of of 418-foot Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The cocaine was brought ashore Thursday following multiple recent seizures by the U.S. Coast Guard and the Royal Canadian Navy in the eastern Pacific. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)(AP) 4 / 6Pallets containing more than 26 tons of cocaine worth at least $715 million sit on the flight deck of of 418-foot Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The cocaine was brought ashore Thursday following multiple recent seizures by the U.S. Coast Guard and the Royal Canadian Navy in the eastern Pacific. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)(AP) 5 / 6FORT LAUDERDALE, FL - DECEMBER 15: Some of the wrapped packages of approximately 26.5 tons of cocaine is seen on the deck of the U.S. Coast Guard ship Hamilton at Port Everglades on December 15, 2016 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The drugs all together worth an estimated $715 million were from 27 separate, suspected drug smuggling vessel interdictions and five bale recovery operations by the U.S. Coast Guard, Royal Canadian Naval crews and its interagency partners. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)(Getty Images) 6 / 6FORT LAUDERDALE, FL - DECEMBER 15: The crew of the Coast Guard ship Hamilton use a crane to offload approximately 26.5 tons of cocaine at Port Everglades on December 15, 2016 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The drugs worth an estimated $715 million were from 27 separate, suspected drug smuggling vessel interdictions and five bale recovery operations by the U.S. Coast Guard, Royal Canadian Naval crews and its interagency partners. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)(Getty Images)

By Alex Harris / Miami Herald