The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced on Monday that it seized over 2,300 pounds of meth hidden in celery in a truck headed to a farmers market outside Atlanta.
DEA agents busted a Mexican cartel’s plan to drop off the meth at the Atlanta State Farmers Market in Forest Park on Thursday with the intent of selling it across the Southeast.
“This is the largest meth seizure at DEA Atlanta and third-largest total meth seizure DEA wide,” DEA Special Agent In Charge Robert Murphy said on Monday.
Murphy said that the DEA received a tip about a tractor-trailer coming across the Mexican border, which was later revealed to be holding 2,380 pounds of meth. The drugs still have to be tested but Murphy said officials believe the shipment was pure meth.
“This was contained in a cover load of celery,” Murphy said. “Obviously, we threw away the celery so there’s no concerns of buying celery at the grocery store.”
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The meth is valued at $3 million wholesale, but the drugs would go for much more on the street, according to Murphy.
“This cartel was very confident in what they’ve been doing to send this much at one time,” Murphy said.
Georgia Department of Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper warned of the dangers associated with this type of drug smuggling.
“It is the produce terminal for the southeastern United States and if drugs are moving through there, there is a possibility for food contamination, and we know that, so it’s important that we keep our consumers safe,” Harper said on Monday.
“For those that want to use agriculture as a means to an end and a cover for criminal activity, you will be caught, you will be prosecuted and you will go to prison,” Harper added.
Newsweek reported on Tuesday that candy donated to a food bank in New Zealand contained a “potentially lethal dose” of methamphetamine.
A patron who received the pineapple-flavored candy in a food parcel from the Auckland City Mission (Te Tāpui Atawhai) in New Zealand reported them being “funny tasting.”
The NZ Drug Foundation, a New Zealand-based nonprofit that provides drug information, tested the candy remaining at the food bank and discovered that a single piece of the candy contained about 3g of methamphetamine.
“Tests confirmed that the lollies tested contained potentially lethal levels of methamphetamine,” Auckland City Mission said in a statement.
