Two **ant smugglers** were arrested in Kenya. They were found with over **5000 specimens in test tubes**, valued at around 7000 dollars.
They are two young Belgians, accused of **wildlife piracy**.
## Ant smugglers in Kenya: the case
**Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx**, two 19-year-old youths, were arrested on April 5 with **5000 ants in a guest house**.
According to authorities, they appeared dismayed during their appearance before a magistrate in **Nairobi**. Even relatives came to console them in the courtroom.
They assured the magistrate that they were **keeping the ants for fun** and were unaware that it was illegal.
As described by the AP agency, they were species that were **smaller and less known**.
The two men were arrested in Nakuru County, Kenya, where several national parks are located.
Furthermore, another similar case emerged in the same country. **Kenyan Dennis Ng’ang’a** and Vietnamese **Duh Hung Nguyen** were also charged with illegal trafficking in the same court. They were caught with 400 ants.
## Ant trafficking
**Kenya’s Wildlife Service** said the four men were involved in trafficking ants to markets in **Europe and Asia**.
Moreover, the species included the **messor cephalotes**, a distinctive large red harvester ant native to East Africa.
The illegal export of ants “not only undermines Kenya’s sovereign rights over its biodiversity, but also **deprives local communities and research institutions** of potential ecological and economic benefits,” KWS stated in a press release.
The country has been battling for years against the trafficking of body parts of larger wild animals like elephants, rhinos, and pangolins, among others.
However, the cases against the four men represent “a shift in trafficking trends, from iconic large mammals to lesser-known but ecologically significant species,” added the agency.
