I can confirm that ants can bring aphids. Some ants can keep aphid eggs in their nest and bring them out and put them on plants to farm them for the honeydew ass juice. They did this to a few of my basil plants a while ago. I sprayed them with white oil and it took care of them. It's a mixture of detergent and oil and apparently it coats the pores that insects breathe through and suffocates them. You can find an easy home made recipe for it.
The last two places I have lived have been the ant's land and the humans are only guests, they were everywhere. Personally I don't mind the ants on my chilli plants. I haven't seen them doing any damage. They used to come in the house despite spraying and using ant dust but then I asked them not to come in and in return I wouldn't kill them with chemicals or anything, and now they don't cross the threshold. It may sound ridiculous to you but if you do it with respect and seriousness believe me it will work.
A few months ago I was doing some repotting and found a whole bunch of these little grubs in the soil. So I collected them up and put them on a few swarming anthills. There are masses of them but they leave my plants and house alone.