A Kenyan court on Wednesday sentenced a Chinese national named Zhang Kequn to one year in prison and ordered him to pay a fine of 1 million Kenyan shillings for attempting to smuggle live queen garden ants (fertile ants capable of starting new colonies) out of Kenya.
Kenyan authorities arrested Kequn at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport over a month ago as he attempted to travel to China with over 2,000 ants in his luggage. Officials charged him with illegal wildlife trade.
The live queen garden ants have a huge market in Europe and Asia and can be worth up to $220 each.
According to the court documents, the accused brought the ants from a Kenyan national, Charles Mwangi, at $77 for every 100 of them. Mwangi was also arrested and charged; however, he is currently not in custody and is out on bail.
Kequn previously pleaded not guilty to the charges, but later changed his plea to guilty. Announcing the sentence, Judge Irene Gichobi described the alleged smuggler as “not entirely honest”, adding: “A harsh deterrent sentence is needed.”
After serving his sentence and paying the fine, Kequn will be deported to his home country of China. He has two weeks to appeal the decision.
Live queen garden ants are primarily purchased to start a new ant colony (formicarium) for hobby, educational or research purposes.
They are popular because a single fertile queen can produce thousands of workers, making for a long-term, low-maintenance, silent pet.
