A Kenyan court on Tuesday charged two men with illegally transporting wildlife after authorities arrested a Chinese national at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport with more than 2,000 live garden ants last week.
Zhang Kequn, 27, was detained on 10 March while attempting to board an international flight. Court documents show immigration officials had placed a “stop order” on his passport following an evasion of arrest in Kenya the previous year.
A search of his luggage revealed 2,238 live ants, including 1,948 packed in test tubes and others concealed in tissue paper rolls.
Prosecutors also arraigned Kenyan national Charles Mwangi on Monday, accusing him of supplying the insects to foreign traffickers. Authorities linked Mwangi to a separate shipment of ants seized in Bangkok on 10 March, which originated from the port city of Mombasa.
Police recovered over 1,100 live garden ants from Mwangi’s residence, including some packaged in modified syringes.
Both men pleaded not guilty to charges including dealing in wildlife species without a permit before Senior Principal Magistrate Irene Gichobi. The court remanded them in custody, with the case scheduled for further directions on 27 March.
The rising trend in insect smuggling
Ant smuggling has surged in Kenya amid growing global demand from hobbyists who maintain colonies in transparent enclosures called formicariums to observe the insects’ intricate social behaviors and structures. Enthusiasts often pay premium prices for queen ants to start new colonies.
Experts describe the shift as a form of biopiracy, moving from high-profile wildlife products like elephant ivory to lesser-known species that play vital roles in ecosystems. Removing large numbers of queen ants disrupts local biodiversity and soil health.
In a related incident last year, four men were each fined $7,700 for attempting to traffic thousands of valuable ants, underscoring authorities’ efforts to curb the illicit trade.
Kenyan wildlife officials continue monitoring ports and airports to prevent such exports.
