NAIROBI, KENYA — A Kenyan court delivered its verdict on Wednesday, sentencing four individuals, including two Belgian teenagers, to a year of imprisonment or a fine exceeding $7,000 for their attempt to illicitly transport thousands of live, rare ants out of the country.
The unusual case has captivated public attention, with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) labeling the actions of the four as “bio-piracy” due to their efforts to move the indigenous ants out of Kenya.
David Lornoy and Seppe Lodewijckx, both 18-year-old Belgians, along with Duh Hung Nguyen of Vietnam and Dennis Nganga of Kenya, had all admitted guilt to the charge of possessing the ants. However, they denied the intention to traffic the insects.
Lornoy and Lodewijckx were apprehended in Nakuru County, approximately 160 kilometers from Nairobi, while in possession of 5,000 queen ants contained within 2,244 tubes.
Separately, Duh and Nganga were found with ants stored in 140 syringes filled with cotton wool, as well as two additional containers. Although the arrests were separate, all four individuals were tried together.
In Kenya, the possession of any wildlife specimen or trophy without the requisite permit is a criminal offense, carrying a potential penalty of a fine up to $10,000 and a prison sentence of five years or more.
On Wednesday, the court ruled that each of the suspects could choose between serving a one-year prison term or paying a fine of one million Kenyan shillings ($7,740), an amount equivalent to the police’s estimated value of the confiscated ants.
The smuggled insects included the Messor cephalotes species, which holds ecological significance in the region. Investigators noted that the storage methods employed would have allowed the ants to survive transportation for up to two months.
The KWS, which brought the case forward, asserted that the suspects’ actions constituted not only a “wildlife crime but also constitutes bio-piracy.”
In a statement, the KWS alleged that the suspects “intended to smuggle the ants to high-value exotic pet markets in Europe and Asia, where demand for rare insect species is rising.”
