ATLANTA _ Investigators have arrested 40 men following a weekend cockfighting bust in east Georgia _ and more arrests are expected, a veteran law enforcement officer said.
"We had no idea it would be that many," Lincoln County sheriff's Maj. Jim Wallen said Friday.
Wallen, whose career began in 1972, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution it's his first cockfighting investigation. Cockfighting is illegal in all 50 states, according to the Humane Society of the United States.
He said those accused in this case also could face federal charges.
"We knew we had this issue here, but it's a very secretive thing," he said. "It's been going a good long while ... in excess of 10 years."
But the cockfighting events aren't always held in the same location, Wallen said. Those planning and attending don't publicize them for fear of alerting law enforcement. The fights are held every other week and only when temperatures are cold, Wallen said.
"Nobody knows when it's gonna be until late Friday," he said. "They're always on Saturday."
This past Saturday, investigators were ready. Wallen and four of his deputies _ half of his staff _ arrived Saturday afternoon at a farm outside of Lincolnton, about 130 miles east of Atlanta. There were at least 200 people from around Georgia and South Carolina on the property to attend the fight. Along with makeshift vendors selling knives, cages and drugs, there were two concession stands for the event, Wallen said. Tacos and beer were being sold at one of the stands, he said.
"It was like going to the Braves game," Wallen said. "They had it all."
The reason? Money, Wallen said. Participants pay entry fees to enter birds into the fights, those attending must pay and others gamble for prizes.
"What I'm told is that fight would've generated in the neighborhood of $60,000 to $70,000," he said.
Those arrested range in age from 18 to 74 and include several from metro Atlanta. All have been charged with aggravated cruelty to animals and commercial gambling.
Some 60 vehicles were seized from the property and 16 of those have not been claimed, Wallen said. Investigators are interviewing owners when they come to retrieve their vehicles.
