Kenya Jails Chinese Ant Smuggler for One Year
A Nairobi court sentenced Chinese national Zhang Kequn to one year in jail and fined about 1 million Kenyan shillings ($7,700) for trying to smuggle over 2,200 ants—mostly Messor cephalotes—from Kenya to China and other destinations; he pleaded guilty after the conspiracy charge was dropped. The judge urged a deterrent sentence and ordered repatriation after a 14-day appeal. The case underscores a growing illegal garden-ant trade, with another Kenyan dealer, Charles Mwangi, facing related charges that are still unresolved.