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Straits Times
07-05-2025
- Straits Times
Kenya court convicts four ant traffickers, fines each $7,700
FILE 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 NAIROBI - 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. 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. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
ABC News
23-04-2025
- ABC News
Four people, including two Belgian teens, plead guilty to trafficking giant ants in Kenya
Four men have admitted trafficking giant African harvester ants from a national park in Kenya. Roughly 5,440 queen ants were seized at Nairobi airport, according to court documents, concealed in modified test tubes and syringes. The bust has shone a spotlight on the lucrative trade, with the ants' combined value potentially worth up to $1 million in Europe. The ants were likely destined for formicariums — transparent cases where ant aficionados can watch them building complex colonies. The species, known as Messor Cephalotes or the Giant African Harvester Ant, are sought-after. The four smugglers, two Belgian teenagers, a Vietnamese man and a Kenyan national, pleaded guilty on Monday to charges of illegal possession and trafficking of live wildlife. They appeared in court again on Wednesday for pre-sentencing. "We are not criminals, we are 18 years old, we are naive, and I just want to go home to start my life," David Lornoy, one of the Belgian smugglers, said at an earlier court appearance. " We did not come here to break any laws. By accident and stupidity we did. " Over 5,000 ants were concealed in syringes. ( Reuters: Monicah Mwangi ) However, Samuel Mutua, a wildlife crime expert at the International Fund for Animal Welfare, said the ant case qualifies as organised crime. "Irrespective of their age, they were able to get a lot of ants," he told Reuters. The Kenya Wildlife Service director general Erustus Kanga said the case signalled a shift in wildlife trafficking, from large iconic animals such as elephants to lesser-known species which are nevertheless still critical to the local environment. "We're seeing organised crime syndicates diversify from traditional ivory poaching to target our entire biodiversity - from medicinal plants, insects to micro-organisms," he said in a statement. "This case represents far more than insect smuggling." A magistrate revealed new details of the case on Wednesday, including that the two Belgian teens were arrested at a guesthouse near a national park. The Giant Harvester Ants are vital to the local Kenyan ecosystem, helping distribute important seeds. The species are under threat from other issues, including the use of pesticides and habitat destruction. Reuters
Straits Times
23-04-2025
- Straits Times
Kenya's ant-smuggler bust exposes lucrative underground trade
Belgium nationals David Lornoy and Seppe Lodewijckx with Vietnamese national Duh Hung Nyugen appear in court during presentation of pre-sentencing report of their case, after they pleaded guilty of illegal possession and trafficking of garden ants, at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) Law Courts, in Nairobi, Kenya April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi Belgium nationals David Lornoy and Seppe Lodewijckx appear in court during presentation of pre-sentencing report of their case, after they pleaded guilty of illegal possession and trafficking of garden ants, at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) Law Courts, in Nairobi, Kenya April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi A relative of Belgian national David Lornoy reacts during presentation of pre-sentencing report where David and another Belgian national Seppe Lodewijckx pleaded guilty of illegal possession and trafficking of garden ants, at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) Law Courts, in Nairobi, Kenya April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi Vietnamese national Duh Hung Nyugen appear in court during presentation of pre-sentencing report of his case after he, with two Belgian nationals Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx pleaded guilty of illegal possession and trafficking of garden ants, at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) Law Courts, in Nairobi, Kenya April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi Belgium nationals David Lornoy and Seppe Lodewijckx look on, after they appeared in court during presentation of pre-sentencing report of their case after they pleaded guilty of illegal possession and trafficking of garden ants, at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) Law Courts, in Nairobi, Kenya April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi NAIROBI - Kenyan police who raided a national park guesthouse earlier this month aimed not to bust elephant tusk or rhino horn poachers but a more esoteric ring trading a much smaller, more lucrative item by weight - queen ants. Two Belgian teenagers were arrested for wildlife trafficking at Jane Guesthouse in Naivasha on the edge of Hell's Gate National Park. They, along with a Vietnamese man and a Kenyan national also accused of ant trafficking, pleaded guilty and will be sentenced on May 7, a magistrate said on Wednesday. Kenyan prosecutors have valued the seizures of queens taken from giant African harvester ant colonies at about 1.2 million Kenyan shillings ($9,300). Depending on the number and variety of each species found, however, Reuters calculated the haul would have been worth as much as $1 million if it had reached European shores. "It's like cocaine," said Dino Martins, director of the Turkana Basin Institute and one of Kenya's leading insect experts. "The price of cocaine in Colombia versus getting a kilogram in the European market is such a big value addition, that's why people do it." Based on the average cost of giant African harvester ants at six retailers in Britain, each of the roughly 5,440 queens seized at Nairobi airport according to court documents is worth around £175 ($233). Ant aficionados pay large sums to maintain ant colonies in large transparent vessels known as formicariums, which provide insights into their intricate social structures and behaviours. But queen ants are vital for any colony as they are the only ones capable of laying eggs that grow into worker, soldier and future queen ants, meaning that trafficking can jeopardise colonies critical to Kenya's wildlife ecosystem. MASS DEATH IN TRANSIT Martins said the retail value of the bug bust should be tempered by the expectation that as many as 90% of them would likely have died in transit by traffickers to Europe and Asia from disease, bacteria and freezing temperatures. Nonetheless, the record seizures have raised questions about whether the attempted heist was a one-off by amateur enthusiasts, or a wider network of wildlife traffickers exploring new products and markets. Ant exports are permitted from Kenya with licenses, though the regulations are difficult to navigate, Martins said. "We are not criminals, we are 18 years old, we are naive, and I just want to go home to start my life," one of the Belgian defendants, David Lornoy, said at the trial last week. The Kenya Wildlife Service, however, said the case signals a landmark shift in biopiracy trends from iconic large mammals to lesser-known species that are no less ecologically critical. "This case represents far more than insect smuggling," said Erustus Kanga, director general of KWS. "We're seeing organised crime syndicates diversify from traditional ivory poaching to target our entire biodiversity - from medicinal plants, insects to micro-organisms," he said in a statement. Samuel Mutua, a wildlife crime expert at the International Fund for Animal Welfare, said the ant case qualifies as organised crime. "Irrespective of their age, they were able to get a lot of ants," he said. For Martins, the furore over the case overlooks the greater threat to insects in East Africa posed by pesticides and habitat destruction that kill millions of ants every day. Harvester ants, whose industriousness is mentioned by King Solomon in the Bible, keep Kenya's iconic Rift Valley healthy by spreading and mixing grass seeds across the landscape, Martins said. "If we were to lose all the elephants in Africa, we would be devastated, but the grassland would continue. If we were to lose all the harvester ants and termites, the savannah would collapse." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Yahoo
Kenyan agents bust plot to smuggle giant ants for sale to foreign insect lovers
By Edwin Waita and Monicah Mwangi NAIROBI (Reuters) - Four smugglers caught trying to transport thousands of live ants out of Kenya for sale on exotic pet markets in Europe and Asia will be sentenced for trafficking wildlife in a case being hailed as a milestone by the Kenya Wildlife Service. The KWS said authorities had intercepted live queen ants, including from the sought-after Messor Cephalotes species also known as the Giant African Harvester Ant, concealed in modified test tubes and syringes. "Investigations revealed that the test tubes had been designed to sustain the ants for up to two months and evade airport security detection," the KWS said in a statement, describing this as "premeditated and well-executed". While some people may see ants as a picnic-ruining nuisance, aficionados enjoy keeping them in formicariums, transparent cases where they can watch them building complex colonies. A court document seen by Reuters stated that the authorities had intercepted about 5,000 queens packed in 2,244 containers, with a street value of about 1 million Kenyan shillings ($7,800). Two Belgians, one Vietnamese and one Kenyan pleaded guilty on Monday to charges of illegal possession and trafficking of live wildlife and appeared again on Tuesday at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Court. "We did not come here to break any laws. By accident and stupidity we did," said David Lornoy, one of the Belgian smugglers, as he asked the court to show leniency. The court adjourned the case until April 23, when it will consider pre-sentencing reports from the KWS, National Museums of Kenya and the probation officer. The smugglers are in custody. One source in the ant trade, who asked not to be named because it is a small world and they did not wish to speak for others, said suppliers needed a licence from the KWS and a health certificate in order to export Messor Cephalotes. The source said the species, native to Kenya, was much in demand and hard to obtain. The KWS trumpeted the case as a landmark in the fight against biopiracy because it involved the attempted export of Kenya's genetic resources without prior informed consent or benefit-sharing, in direct violation of the law. "This unprecedented case signals a shift in trafficking trends - from iconic large mammals to lesser-known yet ecologically critical species," it said in a statement. The specialist British retailer AntsRUs described the species as "truly amazing to visually observe". "Messor Cephalotes are many people's dream species. Queens are around 20-24mm long and have a beautiful red and brown/black coloration," it said. AntsRUs lists the price of a live queen from the species as 99.99 pounds ($132.44), although they are currently out of stock. (Additional reporting by Humphrey Malalo; Writing by Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Giles Elgood)
