On Wednesday, a Kenyan court ordered Chinese national Zhang Kequn to pay a fine of 1 million shillings (7,490 USD) and sentenced him to 12 months in prison for attempting to smuggle more than 2,200 live garden ants out of the country. This illegal business, which is lucrative in East Africa, was uncovered last year.
Most of these insects are sold to China, the United States, and Europe, where they are kept as pets with each ant fetching about 100 USD.
The presiding judge of the case stated that given the recent increase in ant smuggling cases in Kenya, a strict verdict was necessary as a deterrent.
Zhang Kequn had been evading arrest and Kenyan immigration officials had marked a “stop order” on his passport last year. He was finally caught on March 10 this year. He was linked to another case involving a Vietnamese and a Kenyan individual.
Zhang Kequn was arrested last month at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. He was found illegally carrying over 2,200 live garden ants in his luggage, including 1,948 valuable harvester ants. His defense lawyer, David Lusweti, argued in court that the suspect was unaware that transporting these ants was illegal.
Initially, Zhang Kequn pleaded not guilty to charges of trading in wildlife species without a permit and conspiracy. After the conspiracy charge was dropped, he changed his plea to guilty. His lawyer stated that they would appeal the verdict.
During sentencing, Judge Irene Gichobi described Zhang Kequn as “lacking remorse” and “not entirely truthful.”
The judge emphasized the need for strong deterrent measures due to the increasing cases of illegal trading in garden ants and the negative ecological impact of widespread collection. After the 14-day appeal period, Zhang Kequn will be deported to his home country.
Local media reports in Kenya indicate that Zhang Kequn, aged 37, entered the country on a tourist visa.
Another Kenyan man, Charles Mwangi, was also implicated in the case. He was charged with supplying ants to Zhang Kequn and three convicted smugglers from last year. Mwangi has refused to plead guilty and has been released on bail pending trial, which did not proceed on Wednesday.
Last year, four men were fined 1 million shillings each for attempting to smuggle thousands of ants. Wildlife experts noted that this case marked a shift from traditional hunted items like ivory to more obscure species, symbolizing “biopiracy.”
(This article references reports from Reuters, AFP, and other sources)