Chinese national jailed in Kenya for smuggling hundreds of live ants

A Chinese national has been jailed in Kenya for one year for illegally possessing nearly 2,000 ants. The court also imposed a fine after he pleaded guilty. The case highlights rising illegal trade in small wildlife species.

Nairobi (Kenya): A Chinese national was sentenced on Thursday to one year in jail by a Kenyan court after being found guilty of illegally possessing wildlife for having hundreds of live ants stored in specialised tubes.

Zhang Kequn was also fined 1 million Kenyan shillings (USD 7,700) after pleading guilty to the charge of wildlife possession without a license.

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Kenya has previously fined Belgian teenagers who were found in possession of queen ants, which are used as delicacies and kept as pets in Europe and Asia.

Kequn had been charged alongside Kenyan Charles Mwangi, who pleaded not guilty to the offense and was released on cash bail.

Prosecutors say Kequn had been sourcing the ants from Mwangi, allegedly paying 60,000 Kenyan shillings (USD 463) for an initial batch of 600 ants, and 70,000 shillings (USD 540) for another batch of 700.

The suspects were arrested on March 10 after authorities found them in possession of 1,948 garden ants stored in specialised tubes, along with an additional 300 ants in tissue rolls.

Prosecutors say the suspects did not have the permits required under Kenya’s wildlife conservation laws to handle or trade such species.

Last year, two Belgian teenagers were charged with wildlife piracy in what Kenyan authorities described as part of a trend involving the trafficking of smaller, lesser-known species. They were found with 5,000 ants in test tubes. The insects were said to be destined for European and Asian markets, and Kenyan authorities valued the ants at 1 million shillings (USD 7,700).