Latest news with #DennisNg'ang'a
Boston Globe
16-04-2025
- Boston Globe
Teens plead guilty to trafficking after being caught with 5,000 ants
They were found with around 5,000 live queen ants held in 2,244 tubes, which prosecutors said had a street value of 1 million Kenyan shillings (around $7,700). Advertisement Their hearing took place alongside a 'separate but related' case, according to prosecutors, in which a Vietnamese man and a Kenyan man also pleaded guilty to the charges. The men, identified by Kenyan authorities as Duh Hung Nguyen and Dennis Ng'ang'a, were charged with the illegal possession and trade of around 400 live queen ants, estimated to be worth 200,000 Kenyan shillings, or $1,500, according to prosecutors. The Belgian, Vietnamese, and Kenyan foreign ministries did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday. Information about the four men's legal representation was not immediately available. The prosecutor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The two Belgians told the magistrate during their hearing that they collected the ants for fun and were unaware their actions were illegal, The Associated Press reported. Advertisement 'We did not come here to break any laws. By accident and stupidity we did,' David said Tuesday, as he asked the court to show leniency, according to Reuters. The Kenya Wildlife Service, however, said that the way the ants were stored suggested a 'premeditated' act. 'Investigations revealed that the test tubes had been designed to sustain the ants for up to two months and evade airport security detection, including X-ray scanners,' the agency said. The cotton wool, it added, was used to 'maintain the ants' survival during transit, indicating a premeditated and well-executed trafficking operation.' 'The suspects entered Kenya on tourist visas and, according to intelligence reports, intended to smuggle the ants to high-value exotic pet markets in Europe and Asia, where the demand for rare insect species is rising,' the agency said. Messor cephalotes —a 'highly sought-after' species — were among the ants recovered, the agency added. The insects, also known as the giant African harvester ant, 'are prized by collectors for their unique behaviour, complex colony-building capabilities, and greenhouse pest control,' the agency said. The agency added that the 'unprecedented case signals a shift in trafficking trends' in Kenya. According to the International Fund for Animal Welfare, a nonprofit organization, rhino horn, ivory, and pangolins are among the most trafficked items and animals across Kenya and neighboring Tanzania. According to Ants HQ and AntsRUs, two British ant sellers, queen ants of the Messor cephalotes species measure up to almost one inch in length. They are mostly found in East Africa and are rarely sold because they are 'very hard for retailers to source,' Ants R Us added. While those ants are not for sale on the two websites, they are listed at 99 pounds and 169.99 pounds ($131 and $226), respectively. Advertisement
Euronews
16-04-2025
- Euronews
Belgian teens charged with wildlife piracy by Kenya court after found with 5,000 ants
ADVERTISEMENT Two Belgian teenagers have been charged with wildlife piracy after they were found with thousands of ants packed in test tubes in what Kenyan authorities said was part of a trend in trafficking smaller and lesser known species. Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx, both 19-year-old, were arrested on 5 April with 5,000 ants, appeared distraught during their appearance before a magistrate in Nairobi and were comforted in the courtroom by relatives. They told the magistrate they were collecting the ants for fun and did not know that it was illegal. In a separate criminal case, Kenyan Dennis Ng'ang'a and Vietnamese Duh Hung Nguyen were also charged with illegal trafficking in the same courtroom, following their arrest while in possession of 400 ants. The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said in a statement that the four men were involved in trafficking the ants to markets in Europe and Asia and that the species included messor cephalotes, a distinctive, large and red-coloured harvester ant native to East Africa. Vietnamese national Duh Hung Nguyen, left, and Kenyan national Dennis Ng'ang'a at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Law Courts in Nairobi, 15 April, 2025 AP Photo The illegal export of the ants "not only undermines Kenya's sovereign rights over its biodiversity but also deprives local communities and research institutions of potential ecological and economic benefits," KWS said. Kenya has in the past fought against the trafficking of body parts of larger species of wild animals such as elephants, rhinos and pangolins among others. But the cases against the four men represent "a shift in trafficking trends — from iconic large mammals to lesser-known yet ecologically critical species," KWS said. The two Belgians were arrested in Kenya's Nakuru county, which is home to various national parks. The 5,000 ants were found in the guest house where they were staying and were packed in 2,244 test tubes that had been filled with cotton wool to enable the ants to survive for months. The other two men were arrested in Nairobi where they were found to have 400 ants in their apartments. Kenyan authorities valued the ants at one million shillings (€6,819). The prices for ants can vary greatly according to the species and the market. Relatives hug Belgian national Lornoy David who is charged to related illegal possession and trafficking of live queen ants to sell as exotic pets, 15 April, 2025 AP Photo Philip Muruthi, a vice president for conservation at the Africa Wildlife Foundation in Nairobi, said ants play an important role in enriching soils, enabling germination and providing food for species such as birds. "The thing is, when you see a healthy forest, like Ngong forest, you don't think about what is making it healthy. It is the relationships all the way from the bacteria to the ants to the bigger things," he said. Muruthi warned of the risk of trafficking species and exporting diseases to the agricultural industry of the destination countries. ADVERTISEMENT "Even if there is trade, it should be regulated and nobody should be taking our resources just like that," he said. The case has been adjourned until 23 April, after which the court will consider pre-sentencing reports. Meanwhile, the four smugglers all remain in custody.
