Belgian Teens Fined $7,700 or Face Year in Jail for Trafficking 5,000 Ants in Kenya
Nairobi, Kenya – May 8, 2025
Two Belgian teenagers, Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx, both 19, were fined $7,700 each or given the option of serving 12 months in prison by a Kenyan court on May 7, 2025, for violating wildlife conservation laws after being caught with 5,000 ants. The ruling, reported by Euronews and AP News, highlights a growing trend of trafficking lesser-known wildlife species, with the ants—primarily Messor cephalotes, a large red harvester ant native to East Africa—destined for exotic pet markets in Europe and Asia.
The teens were arrested on April 5 at a guest house in Nakuru County, a region known for its national parks, with the ants packed in 2,244 test tubes filled with cotton wool to ensure survival during transit. Kenyan authorities, valuing the 5,400 ants seized at 1.2 million Kenyan shillings ($8,104), described the operation as premeditated, noting the use of modified containers to evade airport security. Magistrate Njeri Thuku, presiding at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Law Courts, dismissed the teens’ claim that they were collecting the ants as a hobby, stating, “This is beyond a hobby. There is a biting shortage of Messor cephalotes online,” and emphasizing the ecological value of the species.
The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) underscored the case as a shift from trafficking large mammals like elephants to smaller, ecologically critical species, with the illegal export undermining Kenya’s biodiversity and depriving local communities of ecological and economic benefits. Entomologist Shadrack Muya from Jomo Kenyatta University highlighted the ants’ role in aerating soils, enhancing fertility, and dispersing seeds, warning that their removal could disrupt ecosystems and that the ants are unlikely to survive in new environments without adaptation support.
The teenagers’ lawyer, Halima Nyakinyua, called the sentencing “fair” and confirmed no appeal would be filed, citing the statutory minimum penalty. In a related case, Vietnamese national Duh Hung Nguyen and Kenyan Dennis Ng’ang’a, arrested with 400 ants in Nairobi, also faced identical fines or prison terms. The case, which drew attention on X with posts from @NDTVWORLD and @RT_com, underscores Kenya’s crackdown on wildlife trafficking, now the world’s fourth-largest illicit trade, valued at $25 billion annually by INTERPOL.
Sources: Euronews, AP News, Hindustan Times, The Washington Post, ABC News, CNN, X posts (@NDTVWORLD, @RT_com, @StandardKenya)