Detectives are tight lipped about what led them to a Lockland consignment shop where they found an alligator, explosives and truckloads of suspected stolen goods.
Animal experts say there was nothing illegal about having an alligator in the Lockland store. The owner has already asked the SPCA if he can have it back. The question that remains is what else was going on at the Wyoming Avenue shop called "Just Stuff."
Blue Ash and Lockland Police searched the business Wednesday night for stolen goods and found three truckloads of what they say they were looking for.
"There were things like sporting goods, musical instruments, a large number of tools, some very large tools, some hand tools, computers," said Blue Ash Police Chief Chris Wallace.
They even found household items and appliances like refrigerators and stoves that were allegedly stolen.
Detectives also found two explosives.
"They were improvised explosive devices. They were probably homemade, and they were turned over to the Hamilton County Bomb Squad," said Lockland Lieutenant Terry Wilkerson.
Neighbors say the store was rarely open. No one answered the phone for the numbers posted on the store sign or the "For Rent" sign in the space attached to the shop.
Detectives won't reveal anything about their investigation or the people who operate the consignment shop, because no one is facing charges right now.
The Blue Ash Chief says this is part of an ongoing investigation on several issues that has been going on for several weeks.
Blue Ash police are sorting through the suspected stolen items in the effort to get the goods back to their owners.
The director of the SPCA says the alligator is a 3 and 1/2 foot American Alligator, and in the wild it can grow up to 10 feet.
The SPCA deputy who picked up the alligator during the search says there was quite a set up for it in the store. He found a small room with sand and a kiddie pool. There were even palm trees.
