Russian police discover crocodile in basement during weapons raid

In this undated handout photo released by the Russian Interior Ministry official website on Friday, Jan. 19, 2018, a crocodile rests in a small pool of water dug in a concrete basement in St. Petersburg, Russia (Russian Interior Ministry Press Service via AP)

Authorities in the Russian port city of St. Petersburg had an unexpected surprise Thursday when they discovered a crocodile in a home's basement during a weapons raid.

The Fontanka.ru news portal said the incident happened while detectives were looking for undeclared weapons in the home of a man involved in staging reconstructions of historic military battles with period uniforms and antique weaponry.

Police discovered a 6-foot long Nile crocodile resting in a small pool of water dug in concrete basement.

Russia's Ministry of Internal Affairs said in a statement "no incidents related to the reptile occurred."

Police afterwards reported the reptile to veterinary services. It's not yet known what authorities decided to do with the reptile.

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The 40-year-old owner of the house explained that he got the crocodile years ago, and neighbors told police the owner has at least four other reptiles, Sky News reported.

City prosecutors said Friday they were checking whether the man was complying with local laws.

The Nile crocodile is Africa's largest freshwater predator and is considered the second largest living reptile in the world, according to National Geographic. They can live up to 100 years old, and are known to be very aggressive reptiles.

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Between January 2008 and October 2013, more than 300 people have been killed in Nile crocodile attacks, according to CrocBITE, a worldwide crocodilian-attack database.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.