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 consi.
