UNWELCOME FIND IN RAID
BABY CROC KEPT AS PET I
SNAPPY Innisfail police have e made a cold-blooded discoveryy during a recent drug raid, uncovering a young crocodile being kept in a fish tank.
In addition to the juvenile e saltie, officers allegedly locatedd cannabis and steroids duringng last week’s operation at thehe Benwell St property.
Innisfail detective senior or constable Chad Tracey said it was the first time in his nine years with the police service that he’d found a crocodile being kept in a house.
He said the 30cm reptile, believed to have been taken from the Johnstone River, was “in poor health” and being kept in the living room at the property.
“It was surprising for investigators to find a live crocodile in a house,” he said.
The crocodile was taken to the Innisfail Police Station where it was given a temporary home in a large fish tank previously inhabited by the station fish.
Officers from the Depart- ment off Environment and Heritage Protection then attended and are now investigating the matter.
A 19-year-old Innisfail woman and a 23-year-old Innisfail man now face a host of drug-related charges.
Officers expect the man and woman will also be charged in relation to keeping the crocodile.
The pair will appear in the Innisfail Magistrates Court on January 18. Saltwater crocodiles are protected under the Nature Conservation Act and taking or possessing one without a permit is punishable with a penalty of up to $353,400 or 2 years imprisonment.