Lynn drug bust nets crocodile, 2 baby alligators, turtle
LYNN -- Along with the expected guns and drugs, police discovered a crocodile and two baby alligators when they searched a Murray Street apartment yesterday, something that police said they hardly prepared for in the pre-raid briefing.
First the officers had to subdue three agitated pit bulls; but they were not prepared for the reptiles, including a snapping turtle. They called state Environmental Police to round up the reptiles.
''We've had snakes, spiders, but these are probably our first alligators," said longtime Lynn Animal Control officer Kevin Farnsworth.
Along with drug and firearms charges, authorities charged Ramiro Jorge, 20, with illegal possession of a crocodile and alligators. The crocodile was 3 feet long, and both alligators were 12 inches long.
Corbie Cump, a spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, said possession of the crocodile and alligators is illegal in Massachusetts. Investigators will also examine the turtle to determine whether it was possessed legally or is an endangered species, Cump added.
''We would prosecute possession of the crocodile and alligators, but if it is determined the turtle is endangered, that would be a federal offense," she said. ''They are trying to determine the precise species of turtle."
Jorge was arraigned in Lynn District Court and ordered held without bail until a dangerousness hearing Aug. 23. A Lynn woman who declined to give her name also took out a restraining order against Jorge, saying, ''I'm a nervous wreck," as she left the courthouse.
Lynn Police Lieutenant David Brown said the raid netted heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and Xanax in large enough quantities to merit trafficking charges. He said police recovered a Tec-9 semiautomatic assault pistol, a shotgun, and a .38-caliber handgun. Brown and neighbors said Jorge's unit in the two-family home was known for drug dealing, and the search warrant stemmed from an initial investigation by uniformed officers Thomas Hazard and Joseph Furtado.
The presence of the crocodile and alligators, which could eventually grow to 18 feet long and live 90 years, caught everyone by surprise.
''I would never have expected anything like that -- alligators and drugs," said neighbor Ron Jagodynski.
Joan Gallagher, a herpetologist and director of Rainforest Reptile Shows in Beverly, which picked up the reptiles in Lynn yesterday for the Environmental Police, said the organization will take care of the animals until the case is over, and then they will be sent to Florida.
''This summer seems to be very busy for this kind of incident," said Gallagher. ''People use [exotic animals] for a status symbol and protection. In drug busts, you will see exotic animals protecting their stash. People are crazy."
