Two Belgian teenagers found with 5,000 ants in Kenya have been fined $7,700 or the option to serve 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.

Authorities said the ants were destined for European and Asian markets in an emerging trend of trafficking lesser-known wildlife species "where colonies of rare and ecologically unique species can command prices of up to €1,