By Hereward Holland and Monicah Mwangi
Kenyan police who raided a national park guesthouse earlier this month aimed not to bust elephant tusk or rhino horn poachers but a more esoteric ring trading a much smaller, more lucrative item by weight – queen ants.
Two Belgian teenagers were arrested for wildlife trafficking at Jane Guesthouse in Naivasha on the edge of Hell’s Gate National Park. They, along with a Vietnamese man and a Kenyan national also accused of ant trafficking, pleaded guilty and will be sentenced on May 7, a magistrate said on Wednesday.
Kenyan prosecutors have valued the seizures of queens taken from giant African harvester ant colonies at about 1.2 million Kenyan shillings ($9,300).
Depending on the number and variety of each species found, however, Reuters calculated the haul would have been worth as much as $1 million if it had reached European shores.
“It’s like cocaine,” said Dino Martins, director of the
You’ve reached your free article limit
Subscribe to enjoy unlimited access to trusted journalism. Cancel anytime.
Subscribe nowNeed help? molokom@insidepolitic.co.za
