Source The Charlotte Observer
An “unbelievable amount” of methamphetamine was found hidden in a shipment of celery at a Georgia farmers market, the Drug Enforcement Administration told news outlets.
Agents seized more than 2,000 pounds of drugs, marking the largest ever meth bust for the DEA’s Atlanta Division and the third-largest nationwide this year, WSB-TV reported, citing the agency.
A cartel is accused of smuggling the record-breaking load across the border in a big rig to be delivered to the Atlanta State Farmers Market in Forest Park, federal officials said at an Aug. 12 news conference, according to the station.
“This was contained in a cover load of celery … It was hiding in the celery,” DEA Special Agent In Charge Robert Murphy told reporters, according to WAGA. “Obviously, we threw away the celery. That didn’t make it to the store.”
McClatchy News reached out to the DEA Atlanta Division for more information on Aug. 13 and was awaiting a response.
The bust was part of a multi-agency recovery effort to prevent meth from making it onto the street, WAGA reported, citing Murphy. DEA agents were tipped off about a tractor trailer headed across the U.S.- Mexico border, he said.
Federal officials said the drugs — more than one ton — were meant to be disbursed across the Southeast, according to WANF.
A man accused of smuggling the drugs into the U.S. was arrested, federal officials said. The DEA said it’s still working to identify which drug cartel is responsible.
“This represents what I would call a confidence load, since this cartel is very confident in what they’ve been doing to send this much at one time,” Murphy said, as reported by WANF.
“It suggests how powerful and how big this cartel is and obviously needs our attention further.”
Forest Park is about a 10-mile drive south from downtown Atlanta.
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