Nairobi, Kenya — A Kenyan court on Wednesday sentenced a Chinese national to one year in prison found Convicted of illegally possessing wildlife by storing hundreds of live ants in special tubes.
Zhang Kekun was also fined 1 million Kenyan shillings ($7,700) after pleading guilty to charges of possession of wildlife without a license.
Kenya previously fined Belgian teenagers who were found in possession of queen ants, which are used as delicacies and kept as pets in Europe and Asia.
Kekun was charged along with Kenyan Charles Mwangi, who pleaded not guilty to the crime and was released on cash bail.
Prosecutors say Kekun was obtaining ants from Mwangi, who allegedly paid him 60,000 Kenyan shillings ($463) for an initial batch of 600 ants and 70,000 shillings ($540) for a second batch of 700.
The suspects were arrested on March 10 after officers discovered they had 1,948 garden ants stored in special tubes, as well as an additional 300 ants in tissue rolls. Prosecutors say the suspects did not have the required permits under Kenya’s wildlife conservation laws to handle or trade in such species.
Last year, two Belgian teenagers were charged with wildlife theft, which Kenyan authorities said was part of a trend involving trafficking of smaller, lesser-known species. He found 5,000 ants in the test tube. The insects were said to be destined for European and Asian markets, and Kenyan authorities estimated the value of the ants at 1 million shillings ($7,700).
