Crocodile rescued by police during illegal immigrant and drug trafficking operation in south of Spain

A young crocodile and a dogs were seized by police officers on Wednesday 3 July in a drug trafficking and illegal immigration operation in Almeria province of southern Spain.

Sources close to the case have confirmed to SUR's sister newspaper Ideal Almería that the crocodile is small and, at the time of seizure, it was being kept in a glass tank in one of the houses searched during the operation.

After rescuing the crocodile, police officers took it to the Minihollywood Oasys zoological reserve in Tabernas to keep it in conditions identical to its habitat in an effort to keep it alive.

Normally, police take these animals to zoos but as in this case the decision was to take it to a place where it will receive specific care from specially trained personnel.

For now it is not known how many people have been arrested in relation to the operation, although it is known that it is linked to drug trafficking networks on the Almeria coast of the Andalucía region.