Oxnard Police find alligator during drug bust

OXNARD, Calif. - Authorities got a surprise when they discovered an alligator at an Oxnard home during a drug raid.

They found the alligator in the home on the 2500 Block of Peninsula Road just before 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The Oxnard Police Department Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU), Special Enforcement Unit (SEU), and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife worked together on the investigation.

The alligator was found "submerged in a poorly secured tank with rancid water," Oxnard Police said in a news release.

Officers arrested a man for possession for sale of heroin and methamphetamine, both felonies, animal cruelty, a felony, and illegal possession of an alligator, a misdemeanor.  

Police called in the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to rescue the alligator.