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The Patrick County Sheriff’s Office released Tuesday the names of 80 people who have been arrested as a result of an 18-month investigation into illegal cockfighting in Claudville.

Patrick County Sheriff Dan Smith said in an email Sunday that more than 50 officers from multiple law enforcement agencies executed a search warrant at 435 Long Branch Road at 1245 p.m. on Saturday. Smith said the site was the venue, and had been on multiple past occasions, for illegal cockfighting.

Evidence collected during the investigation shows that the operation is Mexican-based, and participants from as far as Texas and Georgia allegedly traveled to engage in the illegal activity, according to Smith. Cock fighting is classified as a felony under Virginia law.

Two on the list were from Henry County — Oscar Garcia Galindo, 39, of 397 Garrett Road in Ridgeway and Isreal Carcia Galindo, 34, of 880 Whispering Pines Road in Axton — but most were from North Carolina.

In a phone interview Tuesday, Smith said investigators believe that part of the money from the cockfighting was used by drug cartels for other criminal activities.