Chinese national given one year in prison for smuggling ants out of Kenya

A Chinese national, Zhang Kequn, has been sentenced to one year in prison and fined 1 million Kenyan shillings (£5,713; $7,737) for attempting to smuggle over 2,000 live queen garden ants out of Kenya. The Nairobi court found Zhang guilty of illegally dealing in wildlife species after he was arrested at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in March while trying to travel to China with the ants concealed in his luggage. Judge Irene Gichobi criticized Zhang for his lack of honesty and remorse, emphasizing the need for a strong deterrent due to the increasing cases of garden ant trafficking and its ecological consequences. Zhang has 14 days to appeal the sentence and will be deported to China after serving his prison term. The court heard that Zhang had purchased the ants from a Kenyan national, Charles Mwangi, at a rate of 10,000 Kenyan shillings (£58; $77) per 100 ants. Mwangi has also been charged and is currently out on bail. Kenyan authorities have highlighted a growing demand for queen garden ants in Europe and Asia, where collectors prize them highly, with individual ants valued at around $220 (£170). This rising demand has led to a surge in illegal trafficking, raising concerns about the environmental impact of removing large numbers of these insects from their natural habitats. This case follows a similar incident in May last year, when four men—two Belgians, a Vietnamese, and a Kenyan—were sentenced to one year in prison or fined $7,700 (£5,800) for attempting to smuggle thousands of queen ants out of Kenya. The ongoing crackdown on such wildlife trafficking underscores Kenya’s commitment to protecting its biodiversity and curbing the illegal trade in live insects, which poses a threat to local ecosystems and biodiversity conservation efforts.