Ants are at the centre of a new crime ring threatening Europe: ‘It’s like cocaine’

Police who raided a nationalist parkland guesthouse earlier this period aimed not to bust elephant tusk oregon rhino horn poachers but a much esoteric ringing trading a overmuch smaller, much lucrative point by weight.

This was an ant smuggling ring.

Two Belgian teenagers were arrested for wildlife trafficking astatine Jane Guesthouse successful Naivasha, Kenya connected the borderline of Hell's Gate National Park. They, on with a Vietnamese antheral and a Kenyan nationalist besides accused of ant trafficking, pleaded blameworthy and volition beryllium sentenced connected May 7, a magistrate said connected Wednesday.

Kenyan prosecutors person valued the seizures of queens taken from elephantine African harvester ant colonies astatine astir 1.2 cardinal Kenyan shillings ($9,300).

Depending connected the fig and assortment of each taxon found, however, Reuters calculated the haul would person been worthy arsenic overmuch arsenic $1 cardinal if it had reached European shores.

"It's similar cocaine," said Dino Martins, manager of the Turkana Basin Institute and 1 of Kenya's starring insect experts. "The terms of cocaine successful Colombia versus getting a kilogram successful the European marketplace is specified a large worth addition, that's wherefore radical bash it."

Based connected the mean outgo of elephantine African harvester ants astatine six retailers successful Britain, each of the astir 5,440 queens seized astatine Nairobi airdrome according to tribunal documents is worthy astir £175 ($233).

Ant aficionados wage ample sums to support ant colonies successful ample transparent vessels known arsenic formicariums, which supply insights into their intricate societal structures and behaviours.

But queen ants are captious for immoderate colony arsenic they are the lone ones susceptible of laying eggs that turn into worker, worker and aboriginal queen ants, meaning that trafficking tin jeopardise colonies captious to Kenya's wildlife ecosystem.

A representation of Hell’s Gate National Park:

Martins said the retail worth of the bug bust should beryllium tempered by the anticipation that arsenic galore arsenic 90% of them would apt person died successful transit by traffickers to Europe and Asia from disease, bacteria and freezing temperatures.

Nonetheless, the grounds seizures person raised questions astir whether the attempted heist was a one-off by amateur enthusiasts, oregon a wider web of wildlife traffickers exploring caller products and markets.

Ant exports are permitted from Kenya with licenses, though the regulations are hard to navigate, Martins said.

"We are not criminals, we are 18 years old, we are naive, and I conscionable privation to spell location to commencement my life," 1 of the Belgian defendants, David Lornoy, said astatine the proceedings past week.

The Kenya Wildlife Service, however, said the lawsuit signals a landmark displacement successful biopiracy trends from iconic ample mammals to lesser-known taxon that are nary little ecologically critical.

"This lawsuit represents acold much than insect smuggling," said Erustus Kanga, manager wide of KWS.

"We're seeing organised transgression syndicates diversify from accepted ivory poaching to people our full biodiversity - from medicinal plants, insects to micro-organisms," helium said successful a statement.

Samuel Mutua, a wildlife transgression adept astatine the International Fund for Animal Welfare, said the ant lawsuit qualifies arsenic organised crime. "Irrespective of their age, they were capable to get a batch of ants," helium said.

For Martins, the furore implicit the lawsuit overlooks the greater menace to insects successful East Africa posed by pesticides and situation demolition that termination millions of ants each day.

Harvester ants, whose industriousness is mentioned by King Solomon successful the Bible, support Kenya's iconic Rift Valley steadfast by spreading and mixing writer seeds crossed the landscape, Martins said.

"If we were to suffer each the elephants successful Africa, we would beryllium devastated, but the grassland would continue. If we were to suffer each the harvester ants and termites, the savannah would collapse."