Siamese crocodile found in Gyeonggi river; owner arrested, more endangered species found at home

The owner of a Siamese crocodile found along a riverbank in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, has been arrested eight days after the animal was captured, with another endangered species discovered at his home.

The Yeoju Police Station said Monday it had booked a man in his 30s, identified only as A, on charges of violating the Wildlife Protection and Management Act.

Investigators found that A purchased the Siamese crocodile in 2023 through an online reptile trading forum for 1.2 million won ($818) and had been keeping it at home. The Siamese crocodile is listed as a CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) Appendix I species, meaning its capture, trade and possession without a permit are prohibited.

Police said the purchase and keeping of the crocodile were themselves illegal and formally booked A on that basis.

The crocodile was first captured July 18, after a resident near Soyang Stream in Changdong, Yeoju, called emergency services around 11:27 a.m. to report what appeared to be a pet crocodile. Fire department crews caught the animal, and Yeoju city officials later transferred it to the National Institute of Ecology.

During door-to-door inquiries near the capture site, police obtained a resident's statement that someone in the area had been raising reptiles for about 10 years. Acting on that tip, officers arrested A at his residence near the capture site on Sunday.

A told police he had bought the Siamese crocodile three years ago through an online forum for 1.2 million won and received it by courier. He denied abandoning the animal, saying he had put it outside in his yard about two weeks earlier to let it sunbathe and it had disappeared. "There is no reason to abandon a crocodile I raised for a long time and that is also highly valuable," he was quoted as saying.

Police also found an alligator snapping turtle — listed as a CITES Appendix II species — at A's residence. The alligator snapping turtle is classified as an invasive species in South Korea.

Police said they plan to continue investigating the circumstances under which the crocodile ended up in the river, and will expand their probe into the distribution channels through which the animal was sold.