An unidentified woman from Florida was pulled over on a highway in Punta Gorda, which is 100 miles south of Tampa, during a traffic stop on Monday morning when she took out an unexpected surprise, authorities said.
An officer of the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office pulled the Florida woman over and confiscated 41 three-striped turtles from her car on Monday. “Do you have anything else?” the officer asked her, by which the woman started to produce a living and breathing baby alligator from her trousers.
The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook that Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was immediately called to the scene to investigate the incident.
A spokesperson for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission stated that they seized and then released the reptiles back into the wild. Meanwhile, the woman was cited for possession and bag limit violations for all three species, which are all known to be native to Florida but are widely regulated.
Florida is known to be the home for more than a million alligators and reptiles that are all protected under state law, which meant it is illegal to kill, injure, capture or possess any of them without permit and other needed documents.
The sheriff’s office continued on to post on their Facebook page that the incident marked “the rise of a new crime mascot: Florida Woman.”
Related stories:
– The snow alligator gar
– Five-foot long alligator serves as emotional support animal
– 700-pound alligator found in Georgia euthanized after suffering from old gunshot wounds
