Crocodile found in Russian weapons raid in St Petersburg

Image source, Russian police photo

Image caption, Not an open-and-shut case: Crocodile found by police in St Petersburg

Russian police searching for illegal weapons in a St Petersburg house faced a scaly surprise in the basement: a two-metre (6.5ft) Nile crocodile.

Police said the reptile did not cause any injuries - but now they must find a new home for it. Russian media say the house is used by a nationalist group.

A stockpile of illegal arms was found in the raid, in the city's Peterhof suburb, RIA Novosti news reports.

It included explosive devices and copies of Kalashnikov assault rifles.

A 40-year-old man arrested in November is suspected of illegal possession of weapons.

The St Petersburg news website Fontanka says the property houses a "patriotic youth militia" called Red Star ("Krasnaya Zvezda" in Russian).

The crocodile was living in a pool that had been dug into the concrete floor.

Leningrad Zoo says it has no extra space to take it in.

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