China's BYD, Tsingshan scrap plans for Chile lithium plants as prices plunge
NAIROBI: Two Belgian teenagers found with 5,000 ants in Kenya were given a choice of paying a fine of $7,700 or serving 12 months in prison — the maximum penalty for the offense — for violating wildlife conservation laws.
Authorities said the ants were destined for European and Asian markets in an emerging trend of trafficking lesser-known wildlife species.
Belgian nationals Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx, both 19 years old, were arrested on April 5 with 5,000 ants at a guest house in Nakuru county, which is home to various national parks. They were charged on April 15.
Magistrate Njeri Thuku, sitting at the court in Kenya's main airport on Wednesday, said in her ruling that despite the teenagers telling the court they were naïve and collecting the ants as a hobby, the particular species of ants they collected is valuable and they had thousands of them — not just a few.
The Kenya Wildlife Service had said the teenagers were involved in trafficking the ants to markets in Europe and Asia, and that the species included messor cephalotes, a distinctive, large and red-colored harvester ant native to East Africa.
'This is beyond a hobby. Indeed, there is a biting shortage of messor cepholates online,' Thuku said in her ruling.
The illegal export of the ants 'not only undermines Kenya's sovereign rights over its biodiversity but also deprives local communities and research institutions of potential ecological and economic benefits,' KWS said in a statement.
Duh Hung Nguyen, a Vietnamese national, told the court that he was sent to pick up the ants and arrived at Kenya's main airport where he met his contact person, Dennis Ng'ang'a, and together they traveled to meet the locals who sell the ants.
Ng'ang'a, who is from Kenya, had said he didn't know it was illegal because ants are sold and eaten locally.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
6 days ago
- Al Arabiya
Officials search for bear that attacked a woman hiking on a popular alaska trail
A brown bear attacked a woman Tuesday afternoon as she hiked on a popular trail in Alaska's Chugach Mountains, and officials are still looking for the animal, state police said. Alaska State Troopers used a helicopter to evacuate the woman off the Basher Trail to a hospital, Anchorage Police spokesperson Christopher Barraza said. Her injuries are considered non-life-threatening, he said. The woman, who has not been identified, called 911 around 3 p.m. and told the dispatcher that she had been mauled by a bear about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) into the trail, Barraza said. She told officials she couldn't walk. For about an hour, the woman talked with officials over the phone, telling them the area she was in as they used drones to try to find her, Barraza said. After the bear had mauled her, she said it ran off, and she was unable to see which direction it went, he said. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game blocked off the area and is searching for the bear, he said. 'We're advising everybody to make sure they go prepared when they go to do hikes and trails,' Barraza said. 'Make sure you know what to do when you see a bear, carry your bear spray, stuff like that.' The Anchorage Fire Department wrote in a post on Facebook that hikers should temporarily avoid the trails around the Stuckagain Heights area.
Al Arabiya
7 days ago
- Al Arabiya
Interpol Takes Anti-Whaling Campaigner Paul Watson Off Its Most-Wanted List
PARIS (AP) – Interpol said Tuesday it was removing a most-wanted designation for anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson, who is sought by Japan over an encounter with a whaling ship and who was jailed for several months last year in Greenland. Watson, 74, is a former head of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society whose high seas confrontations with whaling vessels have drawn support from celebrities and featured in the reality television series Whale Wars. Japan wants his extradition over an encounter with a Japanese whaling research ship in 2001 when he was accused of obstructing the crew's official duties by ordering the captain of his ship to throw explosives at the whaling ship. Starting in 2012, Watson had been subject to a red notice of Interpol, the Lyon France-based international police body. The Canadian-American activist was arrested and jailed on the Japanese warrant last year in Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, but released after five months. Denmark does not have an extradition treaty with Japan, where Watson's foundation says he could have faced a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, and the Danish government declined to extradite him to Japan. At the time of his release, the Danish Justice Ministry said it had not received adequate guarantees from Japanese authorities that the time Watson had already served in custody would be counted against any sentence he would receive in Japan. In a statement, Interpol said the decision to remove Watson from the red notice list did not reflect any judgment on the merits of the case in Japan but that it did take into account Denmark's refusal to extradite him. 'This is not a judgement on the merits of the case or the events that occurred in 2010,' the Interpol statement said. The police agency said the decision was made by an independent body, the Commission for the Control of Interpol's File, which is tasked to ensure that the police body's processing of personal data adheres to its internal rules. Lamya Essemlali, president of Sea Shepherd France, hailed the good news 'that this notice was finally cancelled,' but she noted that Watson still could be arrested and sent to Japan for prosecution. 'It does not give Paul Watson his freedom of movements because the Japanese arrest warrant is sufficient for a country to order his arrest,' she said.
Al Arabiya
21-07-2025
- Al Arabiya
Kenyan pro-democracy activist Boniface Mwangi is charged with alleged possession of ammunition
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The prominent Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi was on Monday charged with unlawful possession of ammunition in a case stemming from his alleged role in street protests against the government. Opposition leaders and Mwangi's followers had feared he would be charged with the more serious offense of terrorism. He was freed on bond immediately after his appearance in court on Monday. The charge sheet said the suspect possessed three canisters of tear gas without lawful authorization. His attorney, Njanja Maina, told reporters on Sunday that Mwangi never possessed such items. Mwangi's wife, Njeri, in a post on the social media platform X, said on Saturday that security personnel raided their home and took the activist and his electronic gadgets while talking of terrorism and arson. The Kenya Human Rights Commission said the ammunition charge was a trumped-up accusation. 'This pattern of inventing charges to harass and silence activists like Mwangi erodes public confidence in the independence of the justice system,' the civic group said. Mwangi is a well-known pro-democracy activist in Kenya. On X, where he has 2 million followers, he describes himself as 'The People's Watchman.' Protesters who have rocked President William Ruto's administration say they want to rid his government of corruption marked by theft of public resources and the seemingly extravagant lifestyles of politicians. They also say that Ruto, in power since 2022, has broken his own promises to working-class Kenyans. The protests started in mid-2024 when Ruto proposed aggressive new tax measures opposed by many Kenyans.
