Major cockfighting ring and drug operation taken down in Plumstead Township

(WPHL) — A Bucks County man has been arrested and sentenced to a “significant” prison term after police found him in possession of four kilograms of cocaine and the leader of a large-scale cockfighting ring.

According to the Bucks County District Attorney, Jennifer M. Schorn, 50-year-old Manfid Duran was sentenced to five to 10 years in prison for the drug case, and an additional 8 to 24 months for the animal fighting operation. The cases were prosecuted separately.

Duran will be incarcerated for a minimum of 5 years and 8 months and a maximum of 12 years.

In March 2025, Duran pleaded guilty to charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance, and criminal use of a communication facility in the drug case. In the animal fighting case, he pleaded guilty to 50 counts of animal fighting and 54 counts of neglect of animals.

DA Schorn says the drug investigation began in March 2023 when Pennsylvania State Police and the Bucks County Detectives Drug Strike Force had an undercover law enforcement officer successfully negotiate the purchase of bulk quantities of cocaine from Duran via phone.

On March 15, 2023, a search warrant was executed at Duran’s residence, and police discovered four kilograms of cocaine in a detached garage, with an estimated street value of $400,000.

The cockfighting investigation began on February 18, 2024, when the Plumstead Township Police Department received a report of a possible cockfighting ring at the same property.

Police immediately found numerous cars outside the home and could hear roosters crowing.

In the same detached garage where the cocaine was previously found was a boxed-in pit with two roosters actively fighting, as well as at least one deceased rooster in the corner, and 20 males standing around the pit.

When police entered through the open door and asked for identification, all the men fled in various directions.

A search warrant was subsequently executed, and police found extensive evidence of animal fighting, including a plywood fighting ring with feathers, footprints, and dark red bloodstains. Other items recovered included a notebook with names and scores, a scale, colored zip ties, empty bottles of performance-enhancing vitamins for fighting roosters, bolt cutters, and other items. Officers also found a bloodied rooster in severe distress, unable to right itself, and blood drops on the floor.

Outside the garage, police found a barrel containing burned material and the bodies of two large, deceased and bloodied roosters and two bantam-type roosters, with a clear trail of blood leading from the garage to the barrel in the snow.

Inside the garage, police also found an “apartment” that served as a training ground for the roosters, containing a plywood box with individual slots holding roosters, and a kitchen area with spools of waxed thread, a black zippered case with leather leg cuffs, “Rooster Viper” (an injectable game-fowl enhancing drug), plastic tape, surgical sheets, cardboard rectangles with multiple knife spurs, and a backpack containing a wooden box with nearly two dozen knife-spurs, a brass spur scale, and a hand saw with a blood-stained blade.

Police say all the birds were in dire condition, with no access to unfrozen water and empty food cups.

Following this discovery, the Bucks County SPCA removed 49 birds, including roosters, from the property. The injured rooster later died. Two other roosters were also treated for injuries at a veterinary clinic.