Authorities arrested two Belgian teenagers, a Vietnamese man and a Kenyan national on April 5
Belgium nationals David Lornoy and Seppe Lodewijckx with Vietnamese national Duh Hung Nyugen and Kenyan Dennis Ng’ang’a sit in court during their sentencing, after they pleaded guilty of illegal possession and trafficking of garden ants, they were each fined U.S. dollars 7,700 or one year imprisonment, at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) Law Courts, in Nairobi, Kenya May 7, 2025. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi
International news via Reuters:
A Kenyan court on Wednesday fined four men $7,700 each for attempting to traffic thousands of ants out of the country, in a case that wildlife experts say signals a shift in biopiracy from iconic animals like elephants to lesser-known species.
Vietnamese national Duh Hung Nyugen and Kenyan Dennis Ng’ang’a react during their sentencing after they pleaded guilty of illegal possession and trafficking of garden ants, they were both fined U.S. dollars 7,700 or one year imprisonment, at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) Law Courts, in Nairobi, Kenya May 7, 2025. REUTERS/Monicah MwangiBelgium nationals David Lornoy and Seppe Lodewijckx arrive for their sentencing, after they pleaded guilty of illegal possession and trafficking of garden ants, they were both fined U.S. dollars 7,700 or one year imprisonment, at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) Law Courts, in Nairobi, Kenya May 7, 2025. REUTERS/Monicah MwangiFILE PHOTO: Samples of garden ants concealed in syringes are presented to court as two Belgian nationals, a Vietnamese and a Kenyan national appeared for the hearing of their case, after they pleaded guilty to illegal possession and trafficking of garden ants, at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) Law Courts, in Nairobi, Kenya, April 15, 2025. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi/File Photo
Authorities arrested two Belgian teenagers, a Vietnamese man and a Kenyan national on April 5, accusing them of trying to smuggle roughly 5,440 giant African harvester ant queens, which Kenyan prosecutors valued at around 1.2 million Kenyan shillings ($9,300).
However, retail prices in the UK suggest the haul may have fetched as much as $1 million if it had reached European shores, where ant keepers maintain colonies in large transparent vessels known as formicariums to observe their cooperative behaviour.
Magistrate Njeri Thuku ordered the traffickers, who all pleaded guilty, to pay the fine or face 12 months in jail.
Reporting by Humphrey Malalo and Monicah Mwangi; Writing by Hereward Holland; Editing by Toby Chopra, Aidan Lewis
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
