Tewksbury police arrested 24 people late Friday night for their alleged involvement in an illegal cockfighting ring, authorities said.

A tip led police to the home at 969 Chandler St., where they found 18 chickens with spurs on their feet, five of them severely injured. The Massachusetts Environmental Police and a representative of the Animal Rescue League of Boston also responded.

Police recovered several packages of spurs, kits with tape, and over $13,000 in cash, according to a statement from Tewksbury police.

Janet Montanes, 40, who lives at the home, and her boyfriend, Frank Castro, 41, of Dorchester, organized the fight, according to police. The couple were arrested at the scene and charged with animal cruelty, including keeping and promoting an animal fight.

Twenty-two men and women, ages 24 to 55, were also arrested on charges of cruelty to animals and being present at an animal fight. All are scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Lowell District Court, police said.

The home was equipped with motion sensor lights and video equipment, according to the police statement.

The alleged cockfight ring stunned one neighbor.

“It’s an ordinary looking house, a little run down,’’ said Cathy Perkins, who lives three doors away.

Perkins said she never suspected any unusual activity at the home. She was asleep when the incident unfolded at about 11 p.m. “The police went very quickly and quietly,’’ Perkins said by telephone on Saturday.

The incident is the second related to cockfighting in Massachusetts in recent months.

In January, State Police arrested six men on animal cruelty charges after pulling over a van for alleged motor vehicle violations on I-290 in Worcester. The van, which was traveling to Lawrence from Queens, N.Y., contained chickens with shaved legs and their crests cuts off, leading police to believe they were used for cockfighting.

Alexandra Koktsidis can be reached at alexandra.koktsidis @globe.com. Follow her on twitter @akoktsidis.