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Kenya Jails Chinese Man for Smuggling Thousands of Live Ants

The punishment signals a push to deter a fast-growing wildlife trade serving overseas collectors.

Kenyan wildlife officers sort live queen garden ants being exhibited in court as Zhang Kequn, a Chinese national and Charles Mwangi, a Kenyan citizen, face charges for smuggling them through Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)
Chinese national Zhang Kequn stands outside the courtroom before his sentencing, after he pleaded guilty to charges of dealing with wildlife species without a permit and illegal possession of garden ants, on the day he was fined U.S. dollars 7,746 and a one year jail term, at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) Law Courts, in Nairobi, Kenya, April 15, 2026. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi
Live queen garden ants are exhibited in court as Zhang Kequn, a Chinese national and Charles Mwangi, a Kenyan citizen, face charges for smuggling them through Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)
Chinese national, Zhan Kequn (L) receives a copy of the charge sheet from his counsel as he sits at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) law courts with co-accused Kenyan national Charles Mwangi (R), before taking a plea against charges of dealing in wildlife species contrary to laws regulating wildlife conservation preffered after both we're found in possession of more than two thousand live ants intended to be trafficked internationally in Nairobi on March 17, 2026. (Photo by Tony KARUMBA / AFP)

Overview

  • Zhang Kequn, sentenced Wednesday in Nairobi to 12 months in jail and a 1 million shilling fine, pleaded guilty to illegal possession of wildlife and has 14 days to appeal.
  • He was stopped in March at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport with more than 2,200 garden ants, including 1,948 in tubes and about 300 in tissue rolls.
  • Magistrate Irene Gichobi said the stiff penalty aims to deter a surge in ant trafficking and warned that mass harvesting can damage local ecosystems.
  • Prosecutors say Kenyan co-accused Charles Mwangi supplied the ants for 60,000 to 70,000 shillings per batch and he has pleaded not guilty and is free on bail.
  • Officials and court filings link the seizures to demand in Asia and Europe, where buyers keep ant colonies in clear tanks called formicariums that can fetch high prices.