Belgian teens sentenced in Kenya for £525k ant smuggling
A court in Nairobi sentenced two Belgian teenagers for attempting to smuggle ants worth over £525,000. If they fail to pay the fine, they face a year in prison.
The Nairobi court sentenced four men for smuggling wildlife, including two Belgian teenagers. Each must pay a fine of £5,400, and failure to do so will result in a year in prison.
As highlighted by "Bild", in April, test tubes and syringes containing live queen ants hidden between cotton were found with two Belgians and a Vietnamese individual. Soon after, their Kenyan accomplice was also arrested.
According to Reuters, the smuggled ants include over 5,000 queens of the species Messor Cephalotes. The British seller AntsRUs describes them as "a dream for many ant enthusiasts," with the price of one queen being about £100. The total value of the smuggled ants exceeds £525,000.
The two 19-year-old Belgians, Lornoy D. and Seppe L., were arrested in early April in Kenya's Nakuru district, known for its numerous national parks. In their hotel room, investigators discovered an unusual collection: 2,244 test tubes, each with a mini-ant colony.
According to the indictment, one of the Belgians is an ant enthusiast who raised entire colonies at home and was a member of the Facebook group "Ameisen und Ameisenhaltung". During police questioning, he claimed he did not know that transporting ants was illegal.
Protecting even the smallest species
Judge Njeri Thuku, in her justification of the sentence, emphasised that every, even the smallest, form of life must be protected. "Our wildlife, from ants to elephants, sustains our ecosystems and national heritage," she said.
The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) welcomed the verdict as a clear signal: "Traffickers often underestimate the ecological value of smaller species, but their role in our ecosystems is irreplaceable."
Kenya is home to hundreds of ant species belonging to various genera such as Pheidole, Camponotus, Tetramorium, and Dorylus - the latter known as "army ants". Their colonies can number millions and can traverse forests and fields like a living river, consuming everything in their path - from insects to small vertebrates.
Although ants seem indestructible, they are susceptible to the effects of human activity - deforestation, industrial agriculture, and climate changes negatively impact their habitats. Scientists from Kenyan universities, such as the University of Nairobi, conduct research on their biodiversity and role in nature to support conservation efforts.
