Two Belgian teenagers found with 5,000 ants in Kenya were given a choice of paying a fine of $7,700 (1 million Kenyan shillings) or serving 12 months in prison — the minimum penalty for the offense — for violating wildlife conservation laws.

A Kenyan court has sentenced four men to one year in prison or pay a fine of $7,700 (£5,800) for trying to smuggle thousands of live queen ants out of the country. The four suspects – two Belgians, a Vietnamese and a Kenyan – were arrested last month with live ants suspected to have been destined for collectors in Europe and Asia.

A court in Nairobi sentenced two Belgian teenagers for attempting to smuggle ants worth over CAD 860,000. If they fail to pay the fine, they face a year in prison. The Nairobi court sentenced four men for smuggling wildlife,