223 birds seized in cockfighting operation

• Tweet

NIPOMO, Calif., March 10 (UPI) -- Investigators said they are looking for suspects who ran a cockfighting operation in Nipomo, Calif., where 233 roosters were seized.

Authorities said they found the birds Friday morning while they were completing a search warrant on the property as part of a raid on a Nipomo cockfighting ring.

The birds were in individual cages inside two large compounds, the Santa Maria (Calif.) Times reported.

Evidence at the site suggested the birds were being used for fighting, the Times said.

The roosters were impounded as evidence while the investigation continues, police said.

Nipomo has been the center of cockfighting raids over the past 10 years, the Times said. In 2009, 1,216 fighting cocks were seized and five people were arrested in Nipomo in connection with a cockfighting ring.