Photo: VN Express

 

Four individuals faced a Kenyan court on Wednesday, charged with attempting to smuggle thousands of live ants from the country, an act that violates Kenyan wildlife laws.

 

Among those arrested were Belgians Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx, both 18, found with 5,000 queen ants housed in 2,244 tubes in Nakuru County, which is roughly 160 kilometers from Nairobi. In a separate case, Duh Hung Nguyen from Vietnam and Dennis Nganga from Kenya were caught with ants in 140 syringes packed with cotton wool and two additional containers. Despite their separate arrests, all four are being tried together.

 

The ants, which included the ecologically important Messor cephalotes species, were stored in a manner allowing them to survive up to two months for transport. Police indicated these insects could be sold for an estimated $7,700 on the street.

 

 

 

David and Lodewijckx pleaded guilty to possessing the ants but denied charges of trafficking, with their lawyer, Halima Magairo, describing them as merely "young kids... exploring." Similarly, Nguyen and Nganga admitted possession. All four are scheduled for sentencing on May 7.

 

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), which initiated the case, asserted this was not just a "wildlife crime but also constitutes bio-piracy." The defendants allegedly planned to transport the ants to lucrative exotic pet markets in Europe and Asia, amid growing demand for rare insect species.

 

In Kenya, possession of wildlife specimens without a permit is a serious crime, punishable by a fine of approximately $10,000 and a minimum of five years in prison, highlighting the severity of the charges the accused are facing.

 

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from VN Express 2025-04-24

 

 

 

You can sell ants for 7700 USD?

 

I'M RICH!!!!