ICYMI: Cops Find Illegal Croc (And Drugs And A Weapon) Inside Brooklyn Home

DITMAS PARK, BROOKLYN — Authorities searching through a Brooklyn home this week found drugs and a weapon — and an illegal reptile who appeared none too happy to be in police custody.

Members of the NYPD's Emergency Service Unit and a field intelligence officer executed a search warrant at the home, on 21st Street on the corner of Woodruff Avenue and Caton Avenue, on the border of Ditmas Park and Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, police said.

Inside, they found a loaded .380 semi-automatic handgun and "a quantity" of crack cocaine, police said. They also found this lil' guy:

That's a "caiman," police said, a reptile that comes from the order crocodilia and family alligatoridae. They're smaller than regular alligators or crocodiles and usually live in Central or South America.

They're also illegal to keep in your home.

The NYPD said this caiman "was kept in a tank located within the living room of the location." City code specifically prohibits possession of a caiman, along with a long list of other wild animals.

Police said 41-year-old Habakkuk Tracy was arrested and charged with possession of a loaded firearm, a controlled substance and a prohibited wild animal.

Image via NYPD

Editor's note: This story was originally published Thursday, April 6.