Kenyan Court Fines Four, Including Belgian Teens, $7,700 for Attempting to Smuggle 5,000 Rare Ants to High-Value Markets

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Updated May 7, 2025, 06:20 PM

A Kenyan court has sentenced four individuals, including two Belgian teenagers, to either a year in prison or a fine of $7,700 for attempting to smuggle thousands of live rare ants out of the country. The case has drawn attention due to its unusual nature and the Kenyan Wildlife Service's accusation of 'bio-piracy'. The four were arrested on April 5. The convicted include Belgians David Lornoy and Seppe Lodewijckx, Vietnamese national Duh Hung Nguyen, and Kenyan Dennis Nganga. Lornoy and Lodewijckx were found with 5,000 queen ants packed in 2,244 tubes in Nakuru County, approximately 160 km from Nairobi. Nguyen and Nganga had ants stored in 140 syringes packed with cotton wool and two containers. The ants, including the ecologically significant Messor cephalotes species, were allegedly destined for high-value exotic pet markets in Europe and Asia. Kenyan prosecutors valued the haul at around 1.2 million Kenyan shillings, while UK retail prices suggest a potential value of up to $1 million if the ants had reached Europe, where they are kept in formicariums. Lornoy, described as an ant enthusiast and a member of a Facebook group dedicated to ants, claimed he was unaware that transporting the ants was illegal.

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#Kenyan #Belgian #Kenyan Wildlife Service #David Lornoy #Seppe Lodewijckx #Vietnamese #Duh Hung Nguyen #Dennis Nganga #Lornoy #Lodewijckx #Nakuru County #Nairobi #Nguyen #Nganga #Messor #Europe #Asia #UK #Facebook

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Sources

washingtontimes.com(3)reuters.com(3)hellasjournal.com(2)bbc.co.uk(2)

The Washington Times

@WashTimes

Two Belgian teenagers found with 5,000 ants in Kenya were given a choice of paying a fine of $7,700 or serving 12 months in prison -- the minimum penalty for the offense -- for violating wildlife conservation laws. https://t.co/iCf6oHqmei

ABC.es

@abc_es

🐜 Four teenagers accused of smuggling live ants fined more than $7,000 https://t.co/lCoPAUygNo

Reuters

@Reuters

A Kenyan court fined four men $7,700 each for attempting to traffic thousands of ants out of the country — cases experts say signal a shift in biopiracy from iconic animals like elephants to lesser-known species https://t.co/K69yd7P5kN https://t.co/RxvsV24jRm