Federal investigators have charged a dozen people for what officials say was a massive methamphetamine ring that shipped thousands of kilograms of the drug from Mexico to a home in Georgia.

Authorities say the operation hid the methamphetamine in boxes of jalapeños shipped across the Southern border.

According to prosecutors, the FBI's Athens branch began its investigation in January 2024 after receiving information accusing 53-year-old James Len Ramey of selling methamphetamine from a local oil change business. The agency then tracked the drugs to a methamphetamine conversion lab that investigators said was operating out of a home on Mountain Creek Road in Monroe, Georgia.

Using pole cameras, confidential informants, and other surveillance systems, the FBI kept an eye on the home for months. Investigators arrested Ramey in July 2024. During questioning, he reportedly admitted that he was being supplied multiple kilograms of methamphetamine through a supplier he met while serving time for an earlier arrest.

In August 2024, federal and local law enforcement initiated a search warrant at the Mountain Creek home. There, officials say they found an active drug lab with over four kilograms of "finished" crystal meth and a larger amount of liquid methamphetamine. Agents also discovered hundreds of pounds of rotting jalapeños and discarded boxes in the home's backyard.

A drug ledger found inside the home revealed that more than 1,500 kilograms had been converted in the lab from late February to early August in 2024. Officials say around 3,200 kilograms of methamphetamine from four different shipments from Mexico arrived at the home, hidden in the boxes of jalapeños.

"The vast amount of methamphetamine being supplied is truly alarming and serves as a strong reminder that even in safe, close-knit communities like Walton County, we must stay vigilant," said Walton County Sheriff Keith Brooks.

Ramey and 11 others have pleaded guilty and face years in prison and fines. Four defendants have already been sentenced. The rest will be sentenced in early 2026.