Two Belgian teenagers have landed in hot water after Kenyan authorities caught them with 5,000 live ants packed in thousands of test tubes. Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx, both 19, were charged with wildlife piracy and appeared visibly shaken in a Nairobi courtroom this week. The duo claimed they were simply collecting the insects “for fun” and were unaware it was illegal.
Authorities say this isn’t an isolated case. On the same day, a Kenyan man and a Vietnamese national were also charged with illegal ant trafficking. In both incidents, the suspects were allegedly attempting to smuggle the ants specifically the large, red East African messor cephalotes species to lucrative black markets in Europe and Asia. Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) valued the captured ants at over 1 million shillings (about $7,700).
This case signals a shift in global wildlife trafficking trends. Kenya, once primarily focused on combating poaching of iconic species like elephants and rhinos, is now confronting a rise in smuggling of smaller, lesser known but ecologically crucial creatures. “We’re seeing a move from large mammals to the trafficking of species most people barely notice,” KWS warned in a statement.
The two Belgians were arrested in Nakuru County, near national parks, where they’d stashed the ants in a guesthouse. Kenyan and Vietnamese suspects were apprehended in Nairobi with hundreds more ants in their apartments. Investigators found the insects packed in over 2,200 cotton-filled test tubes designed to keep them alive for extended periods.
Experts say the implications are far-reaching. “Ants are foundational to ecosystem health,” said Dr. Philip Muruthi of the African Wildlife Foundation. He emphasized that ant trafficking not only threatens biodiversity but also risks spreading foreign pests and diseases. “Even if such trade were to happen, it must be tightly regulated. Our natural resources are not up for grabs.”
