Police were shocked after reports of screams from an apartment - only to find eight live CROCODILES living there.

Worried neighbours said the tenant Tassapong, 38, had been shouting hysterically in his room in Pathum Thani province on December 10.

They called officers who arrived with the rescue team to help the man, but they began to suspect something when he refused to open the door.

The man made strange noises inside while talking nonsense to the police such as asking 10,000 Baht cash allegedly to be used to return home.

After an hour of pleading with the man, the police decided to barge into his room by asking the building's owner for a duplicate key.

Tassapong struggled with the officers restraining him and tried to escape into the balcony but he was secured.

Upon checking the room, they found small crocodiles hidden inside an ice chest used as a television stand.

The police found a total of eight reptiles in the apartment with some of them left swimming in a plastic basin with dirty water.

The building owner said the man had only moved in to the unit last month, and he had not been a pleasant neighbour ever since.

He said: "He moved in only one month ago. I always received complaints from other tenants that he had been throwing things out of his window.''

The police took Tassapong to a hospital to have a medical check to determine whether he had been using drugs.

Charges will be filed against him depending on the result of his medical evaluation.

Meanwhile, all the baby crocodiles were taken to the local marine centre to rehabilitate.