Gambling ring raid nets 200 arrests

WINDER - More than 200 were arrested after a police raid on an animal fighting event Sunday.<br> <br> The suspected gamblers included people from as far away as California. <br> <br> Authorities believed violent cockfights and pit bull fights were held at the 11-acre property on most Sundays. The raid on Fence Drive came after an eight-month investigation.<br> <br> Officers rescued more than a dozen animals but found several others dead around the property. They also seized a large amount of cash along with 93 automobiles.<br> <br> ``It was very large-scale,&#39;&#39; Barrow County Sheriff&#39;s Maj. Murray Kogod said. A school bus was needed to carry the suspects to the county courthouse.<br> <br> The raid began around 2 p.m. It took six hours for law enforcement officers from 10 agencies to flush out the dozens of people who fled into the woods.<br> <br> The participants face charges of cruelty to animals, among other things.<br> <br> The raid was the second major gambling and animal fighting bust in Georgia this year. In January, more than 100 people were arrested during a raid at a Newton County house where pit bulls fought for a winner-take-all pot of $50,000.

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