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OREM — Detectives investigating potential drug activity in Orem said they discovered a suspected cock fighting operation.
The Utah County Major Crimes Unit served a search warrant on an Orem residence Tuesday. Inside the basement of the home, officers found "a bedroom that contained hundreds of baby chickens and sharpened metal spurs that are tied to the legs of male chickens in order to inflict more damage to another chicken when fighting," according to a police affidavit.
Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Cannon said there were thousands of chickens throughout the inside and outside of the property. Some of the chickens had "their spur cut down in order for the blades to (be) attached," the affidavit states.
Jose Arturo Meza Basan, 32, who had a fake identification and fake Social Security card in his possession, was booked into the Utah County Jail for investigation of aggravated cruelty to animals and two counts of possession of a forgery device.
Cannon said the investigation into the alleged cock fighting operation was continuing Wednesday.
