"While collecting a few ants might be considered a hobby, being found with 5,000 queen ants is beyond a hobby," said Magistrate Njeri Thuku. While sentencing Nguyen and Ng'ang'a, Ms Thuku said they were involved in what she described as "illegal wildlife trade and possibly bio-piracy". David, an ant enthusiast with 10 colonies of ants at home in Belgium, belongs to a Facebook group called "Ant Gang", the court heard. The Belgian teen, who first visited Kenya five years ago, said he had bought 2,500 queen ants for $200 when he was arrested looking for more. In a statement, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) hailed the ruling as a "testament to Kenya's zero-tolerance stance on wildlife trafficking".