Effingham County Sheriff’s investigators are continuing to probe a possible dogfighting ring after an arrest Tuesday afternoon.

Simone Lamar, 26, of Springfield was arrested on dog fighting and animal cruelty charges Tuesday after workers made a disturbing discovery at her home on Oakton Drive.

According to the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office, a work crew contacted deputies after seeing a cooler with a decomposed dog inside of it behind the mobile home. Once deputies arrived, they located four other pit bulls that were chained behind the residence.

One of the dogs was malnourished and had visible injuries that are consistent with dog fighting, according to ECSO spokesman Detective David Ehsanipoor.

 Lamar was charged with dog fighting, cruelty to animals and improper methods of disposing of dead animals.

“It looks like it has been going on for quite a while,” said Effingham County Sheriff Jimmy McDuffie.

Investigators obtained a search warrant and later found items used for dog fighting including a treadmill for dogs, restraint devices, padlocks, chains, cable cords used to wrap around the dogs’ necks, vitamins and other unknown solutions with syringes that were injected into the dogs, Ehsanipoor said.

Lamar is being held in the Effingham County Jail. The investigation is ongoing and additional arrests and charges are expected, according to the ECSO.

“It is a closed society. They don’t let just anybody in,” McDuffie said of dogfighting rings. “People have to tell us about this. They’re hard to break into.”