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WHIDBEY NEWS TIMES (Coupeville, Washington) 28 June 10 Snakes complicate drug raid in Oak Harbor (Jessie Stensland)
A couple of large snakes on the loose enlivened the service of a search warrant at an Oak Harbor apartment June 19, according to the Oak Harbor Police.
Detective Sgt. Teri Gardner explained that the department’s high-risk entry team assisted investigators with entry into the apartment. Detective Carl Seim, the drug enforcement officer, received the search warrant after working for nearly a year on tips about drug dealing at Olympic apartments on E. Whidbey Avenue.
Before the detectives started searching, the residents warned them that a boa constrictor and a python were crawling around the apartment somewhere. Gardner said the owners let the snakes travel at will around the home, which made the search a little creepy.
“I hope to never have to do that again,” she said.
The detectives found a 7-foot boa during the search, but the python remained hidden behind the refrigerator. Seim placed the lunker in an aquarium.
Besides the snake, the detectives found a small amount of methamphetamine, a small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
Gardner said they arrested 42-year-old Robert Greene on suspicion of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, possession of meth and possession of drug paraphernalia.
In addition, they arrested Greene’s 19-year-old son on suspicion of possession of paraphernalia. A 20-year-old guest at the apartment was also arrested on suspicion of possessing meth and pot.
Gardner said the police have received a lot of complaints over the years about possible drug-related traffic at the apartments. She said the county health department has tested a number of units for meth contamination, and the police have requested a sampling in Greene’s apartment.
Snakes complicate drug raid in Oak Harbor

They often make it sound like the typical herper keeps dangerous animals, they are allowed to run loose in the residence and that we are often into drugs or drug trade.
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Herp Conservation Unlimited

If people really learn from their mistakes, I should be like the smartest guy in the world

Just think how many pythons would be sold if every drug addict had one or two of them crawling around. Ha!
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

...hope that killer drug addicted attack Boa didnt hurt those poor defenseless cops!...

>>...hope that killer drug addicted attack Boa didnt hurt those poor defenseless cops!...

I have to say, it is sad to see the effects of drugs on reptiles. I have had an iguana that was fed pot, who was the most messed up little booger I had. He did however survive and prove to be a good educational tool for a few years. The first boa constrictor I ever took into rescue came out of a crack house. The crack cocaine had been house with the snake. The snake was also the first to eat itself that I ever saw.

I am thankful that these stories have not made the wisconsin news over the years, however I am worried that is not the case.
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Cindy Steinle
PHFaust
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I had a friend who ran a pet store on sobt in orlando (in the "hood" and at the time one of his big sellers was african rock pythons. The drug dealers would buy them and hide their stash in the snake cage to deter theft. Now that they are forbidden fruit here in fl. there will be even more notoriety to owning them and I am sure sales will increase from the previous 2 years' permit experiment that they just trashed.

pass it over to me....