ATLANTA (TND) — There was a record-breaking seizure of nearly 3,000 pounds of crystal meth.

Agents from the U.S. Drug and Enforcement Association seized 2,585 pounds of the illegal drug on August 8.

Over a ton of meth worth $3.2 million was discovered at a farmers market in Atlanta, Georgia.

Federal officials said truck driver Jesus Martinez was arrested in connection with the suspected drug smuggling.

The meth was found hidden in celery boxes.

“It was in a shipment of celery,” said DEA Special Agent in Atlanta Robert Murphy. “It was hidden in the celery. Of course, we threw the celery away. It didn’t make it into the store.”

The Georgia Department of Agriculture posted on social media after the raid that “criminal activity will not be tolerated in our agricultural industry.”

According to DEA Atlanta, Martinez was a member of a Mexican cartel.

The crystal meth entered the USA via the southern border.

The reason for the seizure of the files is currently unknown.

“This is an incredible amount of drugs shipped at once and to a destination so far from the border,” said Robert J. Murphy, special agent in charge of the DEA’s Atlanta division. “It also shows the trust the cartel has behind it.”

This is the largest meth seizure the DEA has ever made in Atlanta and the third largest in the country in 2024.

The drug agency stressed that its top operational priority is to dismantle the cartels in Sinaloa and Jalisco.

The two drug cartels are responsible for most of the fentanyl and methamphetamine that kills so many Americans.