Two men accused of trying to smuggle thousands of ants to China appeared before the court in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Tuesday. It is part of a lucrative business that was uncovered in the East African country last year, according to the AFP news agency quoted by TASR.
Chinese national Zhang Ke-chun last week fromdetained at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in the capital of Kenya with over 2,200 ants in their luggage, including 1,948 individuals of the sought-after species Reaper of cephalotes.
Ants of this species can fetch up to 100 dollars a piece abroad. Zhang, who was born in 1998, according to court documents, bought 1,300 ants from 35-year-old Kenyan citizen Charles Mwangi for 100 Kenyan shillings each (about 0.67 euros).
Mwangi was arrested on March 13 in Rift Valley province. He had with him 1,000 live ants of an unspecified species and 113 ants of the Messor cephalotes species hidden in syringes. He is also accused of selling ants to three persons who were also convicted last year for illegal sale of these insects. Both are being prosecuted for smuggling wildlife without a permit and face up to seven years in prison. They deny the blame. The next hearing will take place on March 27.
