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A Kenyan court Wednesday convicted four men for attempting to smuggle thousands of live queen ants out of the country. The accused; two young Belgian nationals, a Vietnamese man, and a Kenyan, were sentenced on May 7, 2025, to either serve a one-year prison term or pay a fine of Ksh 1 million ($7,700) each.
Authorities intercepted the men in April after uncovering a stash of over 5,000 queen ants, meticulously packed in test tubes stuffed with cotton, an unusual but effective way to keep the insects alive for long journeys. Investigations revealed that the ants, including the giant African harvester variety, were likely bound for private collectors and insect enthusiasts across Europe and Asia.
The presiding magistrate, Njeri Thuku, delivered a firm rebuke in her ruling, making it clear that this was not a harmless pastime. “Collecting a few ants could be passed off as a quirky hobby,” she said. “But 5,000 queen ants? That’s a commercial operation disguised as curiosity. We must draw the line between passion and exploitation.”
The two Belgian teenagers; Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx, both 19, were found with the bulk of the ants in a rented apartment in Naivasha, a popular Kenyan tourist town. David, who is part of an online insect enthusiast group named Ant Gang, told the court he had no idea his actions were illegal. He claimed to have bought thousands of ants on a previous trip for a mere $200.
Vietnamese national Duh Hung Nguyen, 23, was described as a courier who had been sent to collect the ants, with his travel expenses reportedly covered by a third party. Kenyan local Dennis Ng’ang’a, 26, was portrayed as the link between the foreign buyers and the source—leveraging his familiarity with the ant species found in his rural hometown.
Magistrate Thuku described the actions of Nguyen and Ng’ang’a as part of a “sophisticated chain of illegal wildlife trade, and potentially bio-piracy.” The court emphasized that such crimes, often overlooked because of the small creatures involved, could have outsized consequences on ecosystems.
In court, it was revealed that the harvester ants in question can fetch up to $220 each in some international markets. Their removal from the wild, according to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), could disrupt local ecosystems, especially given their role in soil aeration and seed dispersion.
KWS praised the judgment as a precedent-setting moment in the fight against lesser-known forms of wildlife trafficking. In a statement, the agency said: “This case signals our commitment to protecting biodiversity in all its forms,not just elephants and rhinos, but insects too. No species is too small to matter.”
The court also ordered the deportation of the three foreigners once they either serve their sentences or pay their fines. All four have two weeks to appeal the verdict.
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