A record-breaking seizure of crystal methamphetamine was made last week.
Agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration seized 2,585 pounds of the illegal drug on Aug. 8.
More than a ton of meth valued at $3.2 million was discovered at a farmers market in Atlanta.
Federal officials said Jesus Martinez, the driver of the truck, was arrested in connection with the alleged drug-smuggling case.
The meth was found hidden inside boxes of celery.
“This was contained in a cover load of celery,” said DEA Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Robert Murphy. “It was hiding in the celery. Obviously, we threw away the celery. That didn’t make it to the store.”
The Georgia Department of Agriculture posted on social media that “criminal activity in our Ag industry will not be tolerated” following the bust.
Martinez was a member of a Mexican cartel, according to the DEA Atlanta.
The crystal methamphetamine made its way into the U.S. at the southern border.
The origin of the record seizure is unknown at this time.
“This is a significant and unbelievable amount of drugs to be shipped at one time and to a destination this far from the border,” said Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division. “It also shows the confidence of the cartel behind this. It’s the largest-ever seizure of meth made by the DEA in Atlanta and the third largest nationwide in 2024.”
The drug agency noted that its top operational priority is to defeat the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels, the two drug cartels responsible for the vast majority of the fentanyl and methamphetamine killing Americans.
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