The Charger Account

The operation was supposed to be flawless. Located in Kenya, four men of varying nationalities, ready with their expensive cargo to go through airport security, ready to smuggle across the border. Once they boarded their plane, they would be gone. Just four men with 5 thousand ants shoved into test tubes.

On April 15, four men including two Belgian teenagers, a Kenyan and a Viet were charged with wildlife piracy after they were caught in a guest house with five thousand live 5,000 Messor cephalotes queen ants inside 2,000 modified syringes and test tubes packed with cotton wool. This storage system would have allowed the ants to survive for two months and bypass airport security, according to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). These ants were part of a shipment valued at $9,200 to be sold to trafficking markets in Europe and Asia. Messor cephalotes ants are particularly prized for their glossy black bodies and large red heads that appeal to collectors in the exotic pet trade.

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Although the trafficking of ants is less heard of, insect trading as a whole is a growing market, and falls under a $20 billion global wildlife trafficking industry, per the World Economic Forum. For ants specifically, according to the Associated Press, some species are viewed as status symbols for collectors and displayed in formicariums —artificial ant nests—or even featured in videos. Unique ants, like leafcutters, are popular among online content creators, such as “Lights, Cameras, Ants,” a YouTube channel with over two million subscribers. Their rarity makes them desirable, but the trafficking required to bring them to collectors is devastating for the environment.