In a bizarre but serious case of wildlife trafficking, four men have pleaded guilty to attempting to smuggle hundreds of rare ants out of Kenya — each ant reportedly worth up to $220 (nearly Rs 20,000) in the global exotic pet trade.
A court in Nairobi has postponed sentencing until April 23 in what officials are calling a “landmark case” of biopiracy. The accused include two Belgian nationals, a Vietnamese citizen, and a Kenyan, all of whom admitted to illegally trying to export the giant African harvester ant (Messor cephalotes) — a species highly prized among collectors in Europe and Asia.
According to the court, the ants had a combined estimated value of around $7,000 (Rs 5.8 lakh). Authorities say the insects were concealed inside modified test tubes and syringes filled with cotton wool, a method designed to keep them alive for months while evading detection.
“This was a calculated attempt to bypass airport security,” said the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), which led the arrest operation alongside the Kenya Airports Police Unit and other enforcement agencies. The suspects were caught at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) following an intelligence-led operation.
KWS emphasized that the case reflects a growing global threat — the biopiracy of native species.
“Unauthorized collection of native species not only violates Kenya’s sovereign rights over its biodiversity but also robs local communities and researchers of potential ecological and economic benefits,” the agency said.
Officials are hailing the arrests as a significant breakthrough in the fight against wildlife crimes, particularly those targeting lesser-known but ecologically crucial species.
