Chinese Man Jailed in Kenya for Attempted Smuggling of Thousands of Rare Ants

Story Written by springnewsng April 16,2026
A Kenyan court has sentenced Zhang Kequn to one year in prison after he was caught attempting to illegally export over 2,000 ants, including a large number of the rare Messor cephalotes, out of Kenya.
Authorities arrested Zhang on March 10, 2026, at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi as he prepared to board a flight to China. Investigations revealed he had connections to an earlier case involving two Belgian teenagers from Mol, who were previously caught trying to smuggle 5,000 ants out of the country.
The illegal trade in rare ants has become a profitable underground business, with collectors across Asia, Europe, and the Americas willing to pay significant sums—sometimes hundreds of euros—for queen ants and entire colonies. These insects are often kept as exotic pets, used in niche cuisine, or marketed for supposed medicinal and aphrodisiac properties.
Following his arrest, Zhang was charged with wildlife trafficking—commonly described as biopiracy—and conspiracy. However, the conspiracy charge was later dropped after a plea agreement with prosecutors, allowing him to plead guilty to dealing in protected species without a permit.
Presiding judge Irene Gichobi criticized Zhang’s conduct in court, noting a lack of genuine remorse. In addition to his prison sentence, he was ordered to pay a fine of approximately $8,000 or face an extra year behind bars.
Meanwhile, a Kenyan national, Charles Mwangi, has also been charged for allegedly supplying the ants to Zhang and other individuals, including the Belgian teenagers previously convicted. While those earlier offenders were fined, they avoided jail time