'Gators And Croc Found In Philly Basement

Ron S · October 7, 2005

Police Find 5 Alligators In Basement Of Philadelphia Home

WCAU-TV

PHILADELPHIA - Animal control officers had to be called to a drug bust in the Wissinoming section of Philadelphia when they found alligators.

Police said there were four good-sized pit bulls in one house, but they also hit the house next door and there was a sign there that said beware of alligators.

Officers found five alligators and a small crocodile in the basement of one of the six houses they raided on Homestead Street.

They had their own swimming pool dug into the floor. "This is unusual. We don't usually get any animals this big and this many out, but these guys are huge," said Frank Lewis, with Philadelphia Animal Control. "They are very mean. They're dangerous."

Another officer who saw the gators, which are 5 to 7 feet long, joked that he "ran like a little girl."

NBC 10 found that the neighbors seemed unfazed by the reptilian menagerie.

"Doesn't bother me," Wissinoming resident Coleen McLaughlin said. "They're in the basement. These guys take care of their animals. They got dogs they take good care of. I don't personally know them, but they seem like nice guys."

That may ultimately be decided in the courts.

Police said they will release more information about the narcotics raid that turned up the reptiles Friday.