Story Archive

Ask and You Will Find

“One of our narcotics investigators came to the house looking for something else,” says Catawba County, N.C., Sheriff Coy Reid. “When he knocked on the door, the guys said, ‘I guess you’re here about the opium’.” Behind the house, deputies found about an acre of poppy plants used in the production of opium. Cody Xiong, 37, was arrested, and deputies pulled up over 2,000 plants; it’s estimated the resulting heroin would have been worth approximately $500 million. The next day, deputies returned to confiscate hundreds of chickens, dogs, and cats that were found with various wounds and signs of neglect. Catawba County officials are investigating whether the chickens were used for cockfighting. “The animals were taken to a secure location and immediately fed and hydrated,” the department said in a statement. “They are being examined by veterinarians, tested for communicable diseases, and evaluated for re-homing potential.” (MS/Charlotte Observer) ...There’s a new free-range field available in the county.