A Chinese national has been arrested at Kenya’s main airport for attempting to smuggle over 2,000 garden ants out of the country.
Zhang Kequnya was intercepted during a security check at the Jomo Kenyatti International Airport (JKIA) in the capital Nairobi. Border guards found a large consignment of live ants in his luggage, which was supposed to be bound for China.
He has yet to respond to the charges, but investigators told the court he was linked to a network of ant traffickers uncovered in Kenya last year.
Ants are protected under international biodiversity treaties and their trade is heavily regulated.
Last year, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) warned of growing demand for garden walls, whose scientific name is Messore cerolites. Collectors in Europe and Asia keep them as pets.
The public prosecutor told the court on Wednesday that Zhang packed some ants in test tubes and hid others in rolls of paper napkins found in his luggage.
“In his personal luggage, they found 1,948 garden ants packed in special test tubes,” prosecutor Allen Mulama said.
“A further 300 live ants were hidden in three rolls of paper napkins in the luggage,” he added.
The prosecutor asked for forensic examination of the suspect’s electronic devices – a phone and a laptop – to be authorised.
Duncan Juma, a senior KWS official, told the BBC that more arrests were expected. Investigators are expanding their probe to other Kenyan cities where ant trapping is suspected to be ongoing.
Last May, a Kenyan court sentenced four men to one year in prison or a fine of $7,700 for trying to smuggle thousands of live king ants out of the country. It was the first such case.
Author photo, Getty Images
The four suspects – two Belgians, a Vietnamese man and a Kenyan – pleaded guilty to the charges after being arrested in what KWS described as a “KWS description”.
The Belgians told the court that they were collecting these very popular ants as a hobby and did not think they were breaking the law.
Investigators now claim Zhang was one of the organisers of this smuggling network but apparently fled Kenya last year using a different passport.
On Wednesday, the court authorised prosecutors to detain him for five days to allow detectives to investigate further.
KWS, more used to protecting large creatures such as lions and elephants, called last year’s decision a “landmark case.” The ants seized last year were giant African harvester ants, which KWS said were of ecological importance.
It is believed the ants were planned to be exported to exotic animal markets in Europe and Asia.