Miami-Dade Police have taken five men into custody, unearthing an underground cockfighting operation in the region's Horse Country area. The discovery, initially part of an investigation into illegal dumping, revealed a disturbing scene of animal cruelty with fighters and roosters discovered on a property located at 6701 SW 122 Avenue, per a report by Local 10.

Investigators meant to merely serve a search warrant for illegal dumping but instead stumbled upon "numerous" caged roosters, training rings, and fighting paraphernalia designed to cruelly prepare birds for combat. The suspects now face a range of charges including animal cruelty and participating in illegal animal fighting. One neighbor lamented the disturbance caused by the operation, telling Telemundo51, "We have had to put up with this for years."

The suspects arrested were Maykel Barroso Montero, 47; Carlos Bienvenido Cruz, 75; Alejandro Montero Morales, 35; Epifanio Puentes Suarez, 71; and Omar Ucio Izquierdo, 67. Some of the accused were found on the premises during the raid, while others arrived during the police action, leading to their prompt arrest. The police also discovered items including syringes and medications associated with cockfighting, as stated in the arrest reports obtained by Local 10.

The group is accused of not only facilitating rooster fights but also harboring the potential for dog fighting activities. "They originally had a stable, but I don't know what happened to the horses. The property owners are elderly and have dementia. I don't know if the children have anything to do with what happened," a neighbor disclosed to Telemundo51. As stated by the arrest reports, some birds were found deplumed, a sign of the harsh conditions they were forced to endure.

Police reports detail that Cruz claimed to pay a monthly fee to a woman named "Shirley" to rent space on the property to raise roosters and hens. He claimed to only "put the roosters into the training ring to exercise them and keep them in good health." Similarly, Barroso Montero and Puentes Suarez claimed they paid monthly fees for their involvement on the property. Ucio Izquierdo informed investigators of his daily visits to care for animals belonging to his son, according to a Local 10 report.