A Chinese national has been sentenced to a year in prison and fined 1m Kenyan shillings ($7,700) by a Nairobi court for attempting to smuggle thousands of ants out of Kenya. Zhang Kequn was arrested at Nairobi's international airport on 10 March after more than 2,200 ants were found in his luggage, which was destined for China.
The haul included 1,948 prized Messor cephalotes ants, stored in test tubes. Ants from East Africa are in high demand as pets in China, the US and Europe, where they can fetch about $100 each.
Zhang initially faced charges of wildlife trafficking without a permit and conspiracy, which carry a seven-year sentence. However, the conspiracy charge was dropped, and he pleaded guilty. The judge, Irene Gichobi, described Zhang as lacking remorse and “not an entirely honest person”, and handed down the sentence after a 14-day appeal period.
“There is need for a stiff deterrent sentence,” said Gichobi, noting the “rising cases of dealing in large quantities of garden ants and the negative ecological side-effects”. She added that Zhang would then be “referred to his home country”.
The case follows last year's ant smuggling headlines, when two Belgian teenagers were fined about $7,700 for possessing nearly 5,000 ants. Separately, Kenyan Charles Mwangi is accused of selling ants to three people convicted last year; he has pleaded not guilty and his case continues.
