Student charged after taking baby gators into taxi, police say

AUGUSTA, Maine — A student at a University of Maine campus is in trouble for taking his five baby pet alligators inside a taxicab.

The pet reptiles began crawling around the cab Tuesday after a box tipped over. Cab driver Frank Folsom said he helped round up the reptiles, each longer than 1 foot.

The Kennebec Journal reported that 20-year-old University of Maine at Augusta student Yifan Sun from China received a summons because alligators are not allowed to be kept in Maine. The Augusta Police Department said he's charged with importing or possessing wildlife without a permit.

Sun told police he kept the alligators as pets and was taking them with him to visit someone in Waterville. He declined to speak at length with a reporter from the newspaper.

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