Kenyan court jails Chinese man in ant-smuggling case

AfricaKenyan court jails Chinese man in ant-smuggling caseThe magistrate in the case said a stiff sentence was needed as a deterrent given a spate of cases in Kenya of ant-trafficking.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00A Kenya Wildlife Services warden displays some of the syringe cartridges modified to carry live ants at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport law courts in Nairobi on March 17.Tony Karumba / AFP via Getty ImagesShareAdd NBC News to GoogleApril 16, 2026, 4:41 AM EDTBy ReutersA Kenyan court on Wednesday ordered a Chinese man to pay a fine of 1 million shillings ($7,746) and gave him a 12-month jail term for trying to smuggle live ants out of the country.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.The magistrate in the case said a stiff sentence was needed as a deterrent given a spate of cases in Kenya of ant-trafficking.It serves markets, such as China, where enthusiasts have paid large sums to maintain ant colonies in large transparent vessels known as formicariums that allow them to study the species’ complex social structures and behaviours.Chinese national Zhang Kequn was arrested last month at Nairobi’s main international airport with more than 2,200 live garden ants in his luggage.Zhang’s lawyer said he would appeal against his sentence.Zhan Kequn, left, and Charles Mwangi sit at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport law courts in Nairobi on March 17.Tony Karumba / AFP via Getty ImagesHe initially pleaded not guilty to charges including dealing in live wildlife species but later changed his plea to guilty.“Noting the increasing and rising cases of dealing in large quantities of garden ants and the negative ecological side effects of massive harvesting, there is a need for a stiff deterrent,” magistrate Irene Gichobi said.Syringe cartridges modified to carry live ants are displayed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport law courts in Nairobi on March 17. Tony Karumba /...