Four men pleaded guilty to Kenya that they were trying to smuggle hundreds of many many sought after ants outside the country.
The Wildlife Service in Kenya (KWS), which is used greater to protect the bigger beings, such as lions and elephants, described this as a “remarkable case”.
Smuggling included giant African combine ants that are appreciated by some UK dealers to £ 170 ($ 220) each.
The case showed “disturbing shift of traffic models – from emblematic mammals to less well -known species that are vital to the environmental balance,” KWS said.
The suspects have hidden the creatures in “specially modified tubes and syringes” that would allow insects to survive for two months, KWS said.
There was also a “calculated attempt to circumvent the security systems” by dimming the content of the pipes.
Photos on the illegal road shared by KWS shows hundreds of these containers filled with cotton wool, each with two or three ants.
The exact number of insects involved is still evaluated, but KWS spokesman Paul Usto told the BBC that this was the first case of “biopire” on this scale.
The four suspects, two Belgians, Vietnamese and Kenija-Bed, arrested then, which KWS described as “a coordinated operation led by intelligence.”
It is believed that the intended destinations were exotic pet markets in Europe and Asia.
KWS said the search for rare insect species is growing. Collectors keep them in special habitats, known as tanks, and watch them build their colonies.
The giant African composition of a combine – or Vintage cephaloti – is the largest of its species and can grow to about 20 mmwith the queen growing up to 25 mm.
Pat Stanchev, general manager of the insect monitoring website Best Ants UK, said that it was their “big and beautiful size” that makes them attractive to those who want to keep them as pets.
He does not sell the giant African ants for combine, but told the BBC that he was aware of people trying to transmit illegally imported insects.
In Kenya, ants are protected from international biodiversity treaties and their trade is highly regulated.
“This prosecutor's office sends a strong message that Kenya will impose compliance … and notes a significant step forward in Kenya's struggle against unconventional wildlife crimes,” KWS said.
The four men must be sentenced on Tuesday.