Four suspects – two Belgians, a Vietnamese and a Kenyan – were arrested in April 2025 in Kenya  with live ants suspected to have been destined for collectors in Europe and Asia…Delivering the sentence on May 7, 2025, the judge said the particular species of ants collected was valuable and they had thousands of them — not just a few.

“While collecting a few ants might be considered a hobby, being found with 5,000 queen ants is beyond a hobby,” said Magistrate Njeri Thuku….The ants were packed in more than 2,000 test tubes filled with cotton wool to help them survive for months, authorities said.

Nguyen, 23, was described by the court as a “mule or courier” as he was just sent to pick up the ants and the person who sent him paid for his ticket. The court said Ng’ang’a, 26, acted as a “broker” due to his knowledge of the ants that are found in his rural home. David, an ant enthusiast with 10 colonies of ants at home in Belgium, belongs to a Facebook group called “Ant Gang”, the court heard.

Excerpts Akisa Wandera & Wycliffe Muia, Gang who smuggled thousands of queen ants sentenced in Kenya, BBC, May 7, 2025