Belgian Teens Fined for Smuggling 5,000 Ants from Kenya

Four people, including two 19-year-old Belgians, for attempting to smuggle out thousands of live ants from Kenya.

» Published: May 08 2025 at 03:19

Belgian Teens Fined for Smuggling 5,000 Ants from Kenya
Photo: Brian Inganga/AP/TT

The teenagers were caught at a hotel in Kenyan Nakuru in April. Around 5,000 ants were found in their room.

They are now fined equivalent to around 000 Swedish kronor, or one year's imprisonment for violating Kenya's nature protection laws.

The ants were intended for Europe and Asia, as part of a growing trend of smuggling less common species. Among the seized ants were thousands of Messor cephalotes, an unusually large, red ant species from East Africa.

The two other men – a Vietnamese and a Kenyan – were caught with "only" around 400 ants, but receive the same sentence as the Belgian teenagers.

Loading related articles...
TTT
By TTTranslated and adapted by Sweden Herald
Loading related posts...