Two Belgian nationals, along with a Vietnamese and a Kenyan, have been arrested in Kenya for attempting to smuggle 5,000 live ants out of the country. The four suspects pleaded guilty in a Nairobi court on Monday to charges of illegal possession and trade in live wildlife, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

The ants, including several queen ants of the species Messor cephalotes – prized by collectors for their impressive size – were hidden in 2,244 test tubes and syringes. The estimated street value was around one million Kenyan shillings (€6,800). 

According to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), the containers were specially designed to keep the ants alive for up to two months and avoid detection by airport security. Messor cephalotes ants are often kept in transparent Formicaria boxes, which are used by hobbyists to observe and maintain ant colonies.

KWS described the case as a landmark in the fight against what it calls “biopiracy”: the trade or export of biological material such as plants, animals or micro-organisms without fair compensation or benefit-sharing with the country of origin – an act prohibited under Kenyan law.