Police, as well as code enforcement officials, plan to investigate the ownership and whether any laws were broken. Uhhh...
Does this mean they confiscated the animal with no idea whether a law was being broken or not?
If so, then it seems to me the ones breaking the law are the cops.
You have a fundamental misconception of the role of cops in our society. They are not in a position to adjudicate whether the ownership of the alligator is legal.