A Tennessee man is behind bars in Alabama after lawman say he was caught with 82 pounds of methamphetamine packaged as Mexican candy.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday announced the arrest of James Robert Fields. He is 56, and from Memphis.

The sheriff's office Highway Safety Unit on March 29 stopped a Honda for erratic driving on Interstate 59/20 near mile marker 104 near Rock Mountain Lakes. The driver - later identified as Fields - gave permission to search the vehicle for drugs, said Chief Deputy Randy Christian.

During the search, investigators found a large bag containing several smaller bags of Mexican candy in the vehicle's trunk. Deputies noticed the candy felt granular. On closer examination it was discovered that the candy packages contained methamphetamine and not candy.

The Jefferson County sheriff's Highway Interdiction Unit seized 82 pounds in meth disguised as candy.

In total 82 pounds of meth packaged as candy was seized worth an estimated street value of nearly $1.5 million.

Field is charged with trafficking methamphetamine. He remains in the Jefferson County Jail with $200,000 bond.

The Sheriff's Office Highway Safety Unit is a task force comprised of Jefferson County sheriff's deputies and Hoover police officer who have been recognized nationally for their efforts in taking drugs off of the highways and out of communities. This team is responsible for taking over $30 million worth of drugs and drug money out of the illegal drug market.

"That's a good amount of a terrible drug that didn't make it to the streets, along with all the crime that goes hand in hand with it. It's not unusual to see a meth user stay up two or three days on a crime spree of burglaries, thefts and robberies to keep funding the next fix,'' Sheriff Mike Hale said. "This was great work by a team that has a record of success."