State police say a six-month investigation into illegal bird fighting led to Saturday’s raid at a landscaping business in the Herkimer County town of Frankfort, in the Mohawk Valley 85 miles of Albany.

Police say the fighting ring was set up in a barn on the property, where 55 game birds used for fighting were seized along with $68,000 in cash.

Troopers say they found another 180 birds in an adjacent barn being used as a game bird breeding and training facility.

The suspects were charged with felony counts of engaging in animal fighting for amusement. Most of them live in Utica, while others come from Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo.

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