The people suing over a botched drug operation in Rutherford County have come forward with a new claim.

Their businesses were shut down last year in a raid called “Operation Candy Crush.”

Authorities claimed the 23 businesses were selling illegal CBD products. The products were actually legal, and prosecutors ended up dropping the charges

Since then, a federal lawsuit has been playing out in court and the latest filing suggests a possible motive.

The people who own those businesses claim many of them were targeted because they’re Egyptian.

For evidence, they point to several stores nearby. The filing says those stores sold the same products, but they weren’t raided.

The lawsuit claims those stores were not owned by Egyptians.

The suit also quotes an assistant District Attorney as saying, “all the people selling CBD in Rutherford County are foreigners.”

News 2 reached out to the district attorney’s office for comment. We have not heard back.

Several of the agencies and people being sued have already asked the court to throw out the lawsuit.