Getting inside the closed culture of cockfighting is an almost impossible feat for investigators.
But then, as authorities learned Sunday afternoon, there is always luck.
Keith Streff, a senior investigator with the Animal Humane Society, said Wednesday that an anonymous tip led to the discovery of a Lino Lakes breeding and training facility that he called one of the most sophisticated he has seen in 23 years.
Crowing nearby were Taiwanese fighting cocks seized Tuesday from the operation, some with feathers missing and now ensconced in near 6-foot-high cages at the society's Golden Valley facility.
Youa C. Vang, 61, owner of a small hobby farm in the 1400 block of Woodland Drive in Lino Lakes, has been charged in Anoka County District Court with felony possession of an animal for fighting purposes.
Eight other people were arrested Sunday on suspicion of attending a cockfight, a gross misdemeanor.
According to authorities, officers responding to a call about 3 p.m. Sunday found a large group of people, a fighting ring and an unspecified number of injured chickens.
"Police spoke with witnesses who told them they came to the home to watch the chickens fight," the charges say.