A court in Nairobi on Wednesday sentenced Chinese national Zhang Kequn to one year in prison and fined him 1 million Kenyan shillings ($7,737) for attempting to smuggle thousands of live queen garden ants out of Kenya.
Judge Irene Gichobi said Zhang was “not entirely honest” and showed a lack of remorse. “There is need for a stiff deterrent sentence,” she added, citing “rising cases of dealing in large quantities of garden ants and the negative ecological side effects.” After serving his term, Zhang will be “referred to his home country,” the judge said.
Zhang was arrested on March 10 at Nairobi’s main airport while trying to board a flight to China with more than 2,000 ants packed individually in test tubes in his luggage. He was charged with illegally dealing in wildlife species.
He first pleaded not guilty but later changed his plea to guilty. His lawyer said he will appeal within the 14-day window.
The court heard that Zhang bought the ants from Kenyan national Charles Mwangi at 10,000 Kenyan shillings ($77) for every 100. Mwangi was also charged and is currently out on bail.
Kenyan authorities say demand for garden ants is growing in Europe and Asia, where collectors pay around $220 per ant. The insects are prized by hobbyists who keep them in formicariums.
In May last year, a Kenyan court handed four men — two Belgians, a Vietnamese and a Kenyan — the same penalty of one year in prison or a $7,700 fine for trying to smuggle thousands of live queen ants out of the country, reportedly bound for collectors in Europe and Asia.
