Lakeland man charged after raid uncovers croc skulls
A police search of a caravan in remote Far North bushland has uncovered a cache of illegal items, including skulls of a protected animal, guns, ammo and cannabis plants.
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A police search of a caravan in remote bushland of Cape York has uncovered a cache of illegal items, including skulls of a protected animal.
Police executed a search warrant on a camp in the Byerstown Reserve, in the vicinity of the notorious Palmer River about 10am on March 27.
During the raid of a caravan and bushland police allege freshwater crocodile skulls were found alongside numerous bags of cannabis, ammunition and a number of cannabis plants.
Crocodiles are a protected species under Nature Conservation Act.
Without proper Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) certification it’s difficult to sell illegally obtained animal products to offshore buyers, however the decapitation of crocodiles for skull trophies has been well documented.
In 2018 the discovery of a headless 2.7m animal in a dry creek bed near Karumba in the Gulf country was the third in a spate of killings and headless crocs have been found in Trinity Inlet.
In 2014 a Cairns man was charged in relation to 34 crocodile heads, and 12 crocodile claws which he had made into back-scratchers.
Following the Byerstown search a 38-year-old Lakeland man was allegedly located in possession of cannabis, a drug utensil and a firearm.
The man was charged with two counts each of restriction on keeping or using taken protected animal class three offence and one count each of producing a dangerous drug, possessing a dangerous drug, unlawful possession of a weapon, firearm to be kept unloaded other than when being use to shoot, authority required to possess explosives and possess drug utensils.
The Lakeland man is scheduled to appear at the Cooktown Magistrates Court on May 10.
If you have information for police, contact Policelink by providing information using the online suspicious activity form 24-hours a day.
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Originally published as Lakeland man charged after raid uncovers croc skulls
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