Kenyan police recently uncovered a rare and lucrative underground trade in wildlife trafficking, busting a smuggling ring not dealing in elephant tusks or rhino horns, but in queen ants.
Two Belgian teenagers were arrested earlier this month at Jane Guesthouse in Naivasha, located near Hell’s Gate National Park, for trafficking ants from giant African harvester colonies. They, along with a Vietnamese man and a Kenyan national also involved in the trafficking, have pleaded guilty and are scheduled to be sentenced on May 7.
Kenyan prosecutors have valued the seized queen ants at about 1.2 million Kenyan shillings ($9,300). However, Reuters estimates that if the ants had reached Europe, their value could have reached as high as $1 million, depending on the species and quantity involved.
“It’s like cocaine,” said Dino Martins, director of the Turkana Basin Institute and a leading insect expert in Kenya. “The price of cocaine in Colombia versus getting a kilogram in the European market is such a big value addition, that’s why people do it.”
The giant African harvester ants, typically worth around £175 ($233) each in the UK market, are highly sought after by ant enthusiasts who maintain colonies in formicariums, transparent vessels that offer insights into the social structure of ants. Queen ants are particularly valuable as they are the only members of the colony capable of laying eggs.
However, trafficking queen ants can pose a serious threat to the local ecosystem, as the removal of these ants endangers entire colonies vital to Kenya’s wildlife. Furthermore, many of the ants would likely die in transit due to disease, freezing temperatures, and bacteria, with estimates suggesting that up to 90% could perish before reaching their destination.
The case raises concerns over whether the smuggling ring was an isolated incident by amateur collectors or part of a larger, organized wildlife trafficking network seeking new and profitable targets.
Although ant exports are allowed in Kenya under specific licenses, the process is complex and difficult to navigate, according to experts.
One of the Belgian defendants, David Lornoy, defended himself at trial, stating, “We are not criminals, we are 18 years old, we are naive, and I just want to go home to start my life.”
Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officials, however, view the bust as part of a disturbing trend away from traditional wildlife trafficking focused on large mammals, toward lesser-known species that are equally critical to the ecosystem.
“This case represents far more than insect smuggling,” said Erustus Kanga, KWS director general. “Organised crime syndicates are diversifying from traditional ivory poaching to target all of our biodiversity—from medicinal plants to insects and microorganisms.”
Wildlife crime expert Samuel Mutua of the International Fund for Animal Welfare agreed, calling the ant trafficking an example of organized crime. “Despite their age, they were able to secure a significant number of ants,” he said.
While the case has garnered attention, Martins emphasized that the real threat to insects in East Africa lies in pesticides and habitat destruction, which daily kill millions of ants. He highlighted the ecological importance of harvester ants, whose role in spreading grass seeds throughout Kenya’s Rift Valley is essential to maintaining the region’s health.
“If we were to lose all the elephants in Africa, we would be devastated, but the grassland would continue. If we were to lose all the harvester ants and termites, the savannah would collapse,” Martins warned.