Croc shock for police during raid

A CROCODILE and three snakes were found in a Burdekin house when police conducted a drugs raid last week.

Police were expecting to find drugs but were shocked to discover the native reptiles when they searched a house in Phillip St, Ayr, on Thursday.

Ayr Senior Constable Justin Luke said he was not ready for the reptilian discovery.

“I had seen the snakes when I first walked into the room and when I turned and saw the crocodile I was sort of lost for words. It was about two foot long,” he said.

The freshwater crocodile, two coastal carpet pythons and an albino Darwin python were being kept without necessary permits, police will allege.

Police were assisted by wildlife officers who safely removed the animals.

“They had to come in and remove the animals because I wasn’t touching the croc, although I am more scared of snakes,” Sen Constable Luke said. “These animals belong in the wild and are not something that people should be keeping in their home as pets.”

Police also found MDMA tablets during the search,

An Ayr man, 27, was charged with three counts of keeping native wildlife while not an authorised person and one count of possession of a dangerous drug.

He will face Ayr Magistrates Court on April 18.