Hamilton police recently seized a raccoon during a raid of a tent in a local park.
On Dec. 20, police in Hamilton executed a search warrant on a tent pitched in the city’s Montgomery Park after receiving complaints about a person suspected of dealing drugs and possessing a firearm
The tent in question was fitted with a television, a generator, and a safe where police found a quantity of cash and drugs.
Police say that 36-year-old Matthew Campbell-Lewis of Hamilton was found in possession of a prohibited weapon and arrested nearby.
Campbell-Lewis was charged with drug and weapon-related offences, including possession of a prohibited weapon and possession of proceeds of crime under $5,000, among others.
During the search, officers also found a raccoon that was being kept as a pet inside of the tent. Campbell-Lewis is also facing charges for keeping a prohibited animal in accordance with a Hamilton by-law, police said.
The City of Hamilton Animal Services was contacted to take custody of the animal.
Anyone with any information related to this investigation is asked to contact Hamilton Police or anonymously through Crime Stoppers.
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The charges come after earlier this month, Hamilton police arrested a man after discovering a series of tunnels in Gage Park, which connected tents in a homeless encampment to a generator, which was joined to a city light pole.
Police believe one man is responsible, and arrested him after a brief chase on foot. He was charged with several offences, including possession of fentanyl, methamphetamine and hydromorphone dilaudid for the purpose of trafficking, mischief over $5,000 and failure to comply with a probation order.
