Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS)
Kenyan authorities believe that Zhang Kequn was the leader of an ant trafficking network, which was then sold illegally to collectors.
A Chinese national was arrested at Kenya’s main airport, accused of trying to smuggle more than 2,000 queen ants.
Zhang Kequn was intercepted during a security check at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in the capital Nairobi after authorities discovered a large number of live ants in your luggage bound for China.
The suspect has not yet commented on the accusation, but investigators stated in court that he is linked to a trafficking network ant farm that was dismantled in Kenya last year.
Ants are protected by international biodiversity treaties and their trade is highly regulated.
Last year, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) warned of a growing demand for ants scientifically known as Messor cephalotes in Europe and Asia, where collectors keep them as pets.
A public prosecutor told the court on Wednesday that Zhang had packed some ants in test tubes, while others were hidden in toilet paper rolls inside his luggage.
“Inside his personal luggage, they found 1948 ants packed in tubes special rehearsal sessions,” prosecutor Allen Mulama told the court.
“Another 300 live ants were found hidden in three rolls of toilet paper inside the luggage,” he added.
The prosecutor asked the court to authorize the examination of the suspect’s cell phone and computer.
Duncan Juma, a senior official at the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), told the BBC that more arrests should be madeas authorities are expanding the investigation to other Kenyan cities where ant collection is suspected to be taking place.
Last May, a Kenyan court sentenced four men to one year in prison or a $7,700 fine for trying to smuggle thousands of live queen ants out of the country in an unprecedented case.
The four suspects — two Belgians, one Vietnamese and one Kenyan — pleaded guilty to the charges after being arrested in what KWS described as “a coordinated and based on intelligence information“.
The Belgians told the court they collected the highly sought-after ants as a hobby and did not believe it was illegal.
Researchers now claim that Zhang was the mastermind of this trafficking networkbut apparently fled Kenya last year using a different passport.
On Wednesday, the court authorized prosecutors to detain him for five days to allow investigators to conduct further investigations.
The KWS, more accustomed to protecting large animals such as lions and elephants, described last year’s decision as a “historical case”.
The ants seized last year were considered ecologically important and their removal from the ecosystem could harm soil health and biodiversity.
It is believed that the destinations of the smuggled ants would be exotic animal markets in Europe and Asia.
