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Tuesday, Nov 6, 2012 3:15 PM UTC

Gaza police catch crocodile after 2 years on lam

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Topics: From the Wires,

Gaza police catch crocodile after 2 years on lamSakher, a crocodile captured and named by Palestinian police after it lived in a sewage pond since fleeing the zoo in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip two years ago, is seen through cage bars, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012. Police officer Lt. Col. Samih al-Sultan says after weeks of chasing the reptile, they finally caught him by entangling him in shark nets. The crocodile was originally bought into blockaded Gaza through a smuggling tunnel linking the territory to neighboring Egypt. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)(Credit: AP)

BEIT LAHIYA, Gaza Strip (AP) — Gaza policemen say they’ve captured a crocodile that’s been on the lam since fleeing a zoo two years ago.

Lt. Col. Samih al-Sultan says police had been chasing the reptile for weeks after he was spotted in a sewage pond. He says they didn’t know how to catch him, so they searched online for a solution.

Sultan says they finally caught the croc by entangling him in shark nets.

He was returned to the zoo Tuesday.

The policeman says the 5′ 9″ crocodile (1.75 meters) had not hurt anybody, but was frightening sanitation workers.

The crocodile was originally brought into the blockaded Gaza Strip through a smuggling tunnel linking the territory to neighboring Egypt.

Al-Sultan says the crocodile crawled over half a mile as a baby to flee his captivity.

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