Two Belgian teenagers arrested in Kenya last month for attempting to smuggle protected ant species have been fined 1 million Kenyan shillings (approximately €6,800), according to the Associated Press.
The pair were caught trying to leave the country with around 5,000 live ants.
During the sentencing in Nairobi, the judge reviewed earlier testimony in which David Lornoy and Seppe Lodewijckx, both 18 from Belgium, admitted they had been "naive" and claimed they collected the ants as a hobby.
However, the court noted that they had not taken just a few insects, but thousands, belonging to a highly valuable and protected species.
According to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), the teenagers had taken deliberate steps to conceal the animals, purchasing test tubes and syringes "to keep the ants alive for up to two months and to evade detection by airport security." KWS has accused the teenagers of engaging in "bio-piracy".
The fine imposed is roughly equivalent to the estimated street value of the seized ants. Should the boys fail to pay, they face a one-year prison sentence.
In addition to Lornoy and Lodewijckx, Duh Hung Nguyen from Vietnam and Dennis Nganga from Kenya were also arrested in connection with the case. Authorities say they were carrying approximately 400 ants.
The case centres on the Messor cephalotes, the world's largest species of harvester ant, found only in Ethiopia, Sudan and Kenya. The ants are prized by collectors and can command widely varying prices.
