More than 2,300 pounds of methamphetamine found in celery at Georgia farmers market

Celery was used to conceal more than 2,500 pounds of methamphetamine that federal agents found in a truck at a farmers market outside Atlanta, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said.

In what the DEA described as one of the largest seizures of its kind, agents seized drugs worth approximately $3.2 million that were delivered to the Atlanta State Farmer’s Market in Forest Park, Georgia.

The agency learned that a semi-trailer was coming across the Mexican border and agents followed the drugs to the farmers market, DEA Special Agent in Charge Robert Murphy said. The drugs were found inside the truck, he said.

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“This was in a shipment of celery,” Murphy said. “It was hidden in the celery. Obviously we threw the celery away. That didn’t make it to the store.”

The driver, a Mexican citizen, was arrested, WAGA-TV reported. The DEA later identified him as Jesus Martinez.

According to authorities, it is a common tactic for smugglers to conceal drugs using products.

“This is a significant and incredible amount of drugs to be shipped at one time and to a destination so far from the border,” Murphy said. “It also shows the confidence of the cartel behind this.”

The DEA said the investigation is ongoing as the priority is to combat the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels, which the DEA says are responsible for the majority of fentanyl and methamphetamine-related deaths in the U.S.

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