By Enyichukwu Enemanna
A court in Kenya has sentenced an international gang to one year in prison over an attempt to smuggle thousands of live ants out of the East African country.
The convicts, two Belgians, a Vietnamese, and a Kenyan, were arrested last month with 5,000 ants at a guest house in the western town of Naivasha. However, they were given the option of paying a $7,700 (£5,800) fine.
They had pleaded guilty to the charges but told the court they were collecting the highly sought-after ants as a hobby and were unaware of the legal implications.
The judge, while delivering the sentence on Wednesday, said the particular species of ants found in their custody was valuable, and they had gathered thousands, not just a few.
Belgian nationals, Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx, both aged 19, Vietnamese national Duh Hung Nguyen, and the only Kenyan, Dennis Ng’ang’a, received similar jail terms after the magistrate considered their mitigation arguments.
The Belgians were found with 5,000 ants, while Nguyen and Ng’ang’a had 300.
It is suspected that the ants were intended for exotic pet markets in Europe and Asia.
According to a BBC report, the contraband included giant African harvester ants, which are valued by some UK dealers at up to £170 ($220) each.
The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), a government agency that oversees the protection of larger creatures such as lions and elephants, has described the case as a “landmark”.
The case, the KWS said last month when the four were arrested, showed a “disturbing shift in trafficking patterns – from iconic mammals to lesser-known species that are vital to ecological balance.” The agency also noted that the demand for rare insect species is growing.
The Belgian teenagers had arrived in the East African nation on tourist visas and were staying in Naivasha, a town popular with tourists for its animal parks and lakes.
