Kenya sentences Chinese citizen to one year in prison for smuggling about 2,200 ants

Nairobi.- The Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Tribunal in Kenya sentenced this Wednesday a Chinese citizen to one year in prison and to the payment of a fine of one million Kenyan shillings (about 7,100 euros) for attempting to illegally take at least 2,200 live ants out of the country.

Magistrate Irene Gichobi delivered the sentence against Zhang Kequn, 37 years old, arrested last February at Nairobi International Airport, the country's capital, with the insects hidden in his luggage, according to local media. Zhang, who initially pleaded not guilty to charges of wildlife trafficking, later changed his plea to guilty, although his defense announced that they will appeal the sentence.

“Given the increase in cases of trafficking of large quantities of garden ants and the negative ecological effects of their mass collection, a severe sentence is necessary to serve as a deterrent,” Gichobi stated during the reading of the ruling.

A Kenyan citizen, Charles Mwangi, 35, is also involved in the same case, accused of supplying the ants to Zhang. He pleaded not guilty and is out on bail, awaiting trial. The prosecution revealed that Zhang is considered the leader of a network dismantled in 2025 that trafficked ants to China for their sale as exotic pets in "formicariums" (artificial ant farms). The defendants were arrested with 1,948 garden ants packaged in specialized tubes and another 300 live ants hidden in three rolls of toilet paper, without the corresponding permits. Zhang would have paid Mwangi 60,000 Kenyan shillings (about 400 euros) for 600 live ants and another 70,000 shillings (about 470 euros) for another 700, at an approximate price of 100 shillings (about 67 euro cents) per insect.

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According to organizations such as the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), these cases represent a shift in biopiracy trends in the country, as the focus has historically been on "trophies" such as elephant ivory. However, now the interest of criminal networks is shifting towards lesser-known but fundamental species for the balance of local ecosystems. In May 2025, the same court imposed fines equivalent to more than 6,800 euros or a one-year prison sentence on four men - two Belgian citizens, one Vietnamese and one Kenyan - on charges of wildlife trafficking, after having also been intercepted with thousands of exotic ants.