Kenya arrests Chinese national attempting to smuggle over 2,000 protected queen ants

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Kenya arrests Chinese national attempting to smuggle over 2,000 protected queen ants

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AFRICANEWS

Kenya arrests Chinese national attempting to smuggle over 2,000 protected queen ants

Credited from: AFRICANEWS

A Chinese national was arrested in Kenya for attempting to smuggle over 2,000 queen ants.
The 27-year-old suspect was caught at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
The ants were hidden in test tubes and tissue paper, indicating a sophisticated smuggling operation.
This incident is part of a rising trend in ant trafficking linked to a broader organized network.
Last year, several individuals were fined for similar trafficking activities, highlighting increased enforcement.

A Chinese national, identified as Zhang Kequn, was arrested at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi while attempting to smuggle over 2,200 live garden ants, a species known scientifically as Messor cephalotes. Authorities discovered the ants concealed in his luggage during a security check, with 1,948 ants packed in specialized test tubes and an additional 300 hidden in tissue paper rolls, according to BBC and Reuters.

This arrest comes amid a rise in cases involving the trafficking of ants in Kenya. Zhang's passport had been flagged after he reportedly evaded arrest in a related case last year. The Kenya Wildlife Service warns that the demand for these ants is increasing in markets like Europe and Asia, where collectors maintain them as pets. This case highlights a worrying shift in wildlife crimes towards lesser-known species, as noted by South China Morning Post and Africanews.

South China Morning Post.