5,000 Ants in Test Tubes: Teens Busted in Kenya

It wasn't elephant tusks or rare reptiles — it was ants. Thousands of them. Packed into test tubes and syringes, queen ants with names like Messor cephalotes were found stuffed in luggage at a guesthouse in Kenya. Their alleged smugglers? Two Belgian teenagers who claimed they were just collecting them "for fun," according to the Associated Press. But as investigators dug deeper, it became clear: this wasn't a quirky vacation hobby gone wrong. It was part of something much bigger — and much weirder.

A Sting Operation No One Saw Coming

On April 5, 2025, Kenyan authorities arrested four men in two separate locations. Two of them — 19-year-olds Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx — were reportedly found with over 5,000 ants housed in 2,244 test tubes at a guesthouse in Nakuru County, near several of Kenya's national parks.

The other two men, a Kenyan and a Vietnamese national, were arrested in Nairobi with 400 ants. All four later pleaded guilty to illegal possession and wildlife trafficking charges at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Court.

According to the Kenya Wildlife Service, the group had carefully designed their equipment to smuggle ants through security — test tubes were packed with cotton wool to keep the insects alive for up to two months, a setup seemingly meant to withstand long-distance travel undetected.

The Queen Ants Behind the Craze

So why would anyone risk arrest over ants?

Turns out, these weren't just any ants. Among the species found were M. cephalotes, also known as the Giant African Harvester ant — striking creatures with vivid red and black coloring. Exotic pet enthusiasts prize them for their size, vibrant appearance, and colony behavior. They're rare outside East Africa, difficult to breed, and fetch high prices on specialty pet markets in Europe and Asia.

While Lodewijckx and Lornoy told the court they didn't realize what they were doing was illegal, they admitted they had come to Kenya with the intention of collecting and exporting the insects. "We did not come here to break any laws. By accident and stupidity we did," Lornoy told the court, according to PEOPLE.

A Shift in Trafficking Trends

Wildlife trafficking is nothing new in Kenya, a country long battling the illegal trade of elephant ivory, rhino horn, and pangolins. But this case represents a pivot from large, iconic animals to lesser-known species.

In comments reported by PEOPLE, the Kenya Wildlife Service said there has been "a disturbing shift in trafficking patterns — from iconic mammals to tiny but ecologically vital species."

Philip Muruthi, vice president of conservation at the African Wildlife Foundation, warned of the ecological risks in comments reported by the Associated Press, saying, "The thing is, when you see a healthy forest, like Ngong forest, you don't think about what is making it healthy. It is the relationships all the way from the bacteria to the ants to the bigger things."

He also noted that unregulated trade can introduce new diseases into foreign agricultural systems.

Why It Matters

The ants were valued at 1 million Kenyan shillings — about $7,700. While that might seem low compared to elephant tusks or tiger bones, it's a signal that wildlife crime is evolving. Smaller species are easier to transport, often less regulated, and now just as valuable in the right niche markets.

For Kenya, the case is a warning siren. For conservationists, it's a wake-up call to expand protections to include even the smallest players in the ecosystem.

And for two Belgian teens who thought it might be fun to collect ants, it's a lesson in how even the tiniest creatures can come with massive consequences.

References: Belgian Teenagers Admit to Trafficking Insects | Belgian Teens Arrested With 5,000 Smuggled Ants | Two Teenagers Arrested in Kenya for Smuggling Ants