Kenyan court has charged two men with illegal wildlife trafficking on Tuesday, March 17th. One of the men, a Chinese national, was arrested last week at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi with over 2,000 live ants concealed in his luggage.
According to court documents, 27-year-old Zhang Kequn was detained last Tuesday while attempting to leave the country. Kenyan immigration officials had flagged him with an “interception order” on his passport for evading arrest last year.
Prosecutors on Monday brought the second defendant, Charles Mwangi, to court, accusing him of supplying live ants to foreign wildlife smugglers. Authorities linked Mwangi to a batch of ants seized in Bangkok on March 10th, believed to have originated from the port city of Mombasa in Kenya.
Zhang Kequn and Mwangi met at a hotel in Nakuru, where the transaction was captured by surveillance cameras.
Facing Chief Magistrate Irene Gichobi, Zhang Kequn and Mwangi pleaded not guilty to charges including unauthorized trade in wildlife species. The court ordered the two to be remanded in custody pending further directions on the case on March 27th.
The defendants are charged with illegal trading of wildlife species and conspiracy to commit a crime. Under Kenyan law, if convicted, they could face up to 7 years in prison. Defense lawyer David Lusweti argued in court that the suspects were unaware that transporting the ants was illegal.
When Zhang Kequn was arrested, he had 2,238 live ants in his possession, with 1,948 being “Messor cephalotes” ants kept in specially designed test tubes, and the remaining 300 hidden in rolls of toilet paper.
These “Messor cephalotes” ants are highly sought after in international pet markets, with each ant queen reportedly fetching up to $100 overseas, while Zhang Kequn paid the local supplier only 100 Kenyan shillings (approximately $0.77) per ant. The prosecution alleged that Zhang Kequn made two separate purchases of ants from Mwangi, paying 60,000 shillings for the first batch of 600 ants, and 70,000 shillings for the second batch of 700 ants.
Last year, four men were fined $7,700 each for attempting to smuggle thousands of ants of significant ecological value to the Kenyan ecosystem. Experts noted that this case highlights a shift in wildlife trafficking activities from traditional sought-after items like ivory to more niche species, indicating a trend towards biopiracy activities.