AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION 05 October 07 Cops call for back up in stand off with slithery serpent (Melissa Brown)
Dandenong police had to call for backup to help tackle a snakey offender this morning.
A garbage collector found the snake dumped inside a bag in a local bin.
He handed it into the police - who were not to willing to investigate further.
Senior Constable Karla Dennis says they had to locked the reptile in the Dandenong watchhouse while they waited for a snake handler to arrive.
"It's inside a white calico bag and that's where it's going to remain, as no one's brave enough to open it" she said.
"A garbage man found this as he was emptying the bin on the corner of Mason and Walker streets in Dandenong and then he saw some movement so it appears perhaps that someone may have dumped it,"
"We're looking for someone to maybe dob in the owner."
Snake handler Sean McCarthy says the snake isn't venomous but it would not have been a welcome sight.
"Probably didn't know what he's looking at, just saw something reptillian, saw the scales and did the right thing, brought it down to the police station ," he said.
"It's always the best case to try and get someone that knows what they're doing."
Mr McCarthy says the owner might not have been authorised to keep the reptile.
"Sometimes the owners don't have a license and they get wind of the fact there might be someone coming to check on their license situation and they will dump snakes then, " he said.
"So often we'll find them in places we just shouldn't find them."
Cops call for back up in stand off with serpent