Kenya Sentences Chinese Man To 1-Year Prison Term For Smuggling . . . Ants?

[hatrack]

Last edited Thu Apr 16, 2026, 08:25 AM - Edit history (1)

A Chinese national has been sentenced to a year in prison and fined by a Nairobi court for attempting to smuggle thousands of ants out of Kenya, a lucrative trade in east Africa that was exposed last year. The insects are mostly destined for China, the US and Europe, where they become pets and can be worth about $100 each.

Ant smuggling made headlines last year when two Belgian teenagers were arrested in possession of nearly 5,000 ants, mostly stored in small test tubes. They were fined about $7,700. Zhang Kequn, who evaded capture until his arrest on 10 March, had been linked to another case involving two people, one Vietnamese and one Kenyan.

More than 2,200 ants – including 1,948 prized Messor cephalotes – were found in test tubes in Zhang’s luggage at Nairobi’s international airport that was destined for China.

He was initially charged with wildlife trafficking without a permit and conspiracy, which carries a seven-year sentence, his lawyer said. He pleaded guilty after latter charge was dismissed.

EDIT

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/15/ant-smuggler-sentenced-to-a-year-in-jail-by-kenyan-court

[3Hotdogs]

1. Fukkin A ! I got hundreds'a ants in my yard. Ebay?

Craig's last?

Tell ya what. I aint' got much time to give to this. So you can be my broker. I'll send my ants to you for $50 an ant and you can make us both rich.

[3Hotdogs]

2. Pets gotta have name. I'll sell you, General Tso. He's big, black and proud.

Then I have T'ung Fu Tsu. He's quiet and contemplative.

Or General Sun Tsu. He says he can beat the shit out of General Tso.

With a cast like this, we can make $millions.

[3Hotdogs]

3. Or how 'bout we sell them, "The Gang of Eight?"

[hatrack]

4. I was thinking "The Gang Of Six . . . Legs".

[3Hotdogs]

5. Yeah but if we're selling to China, the "Gang of Eight" has more meaning. ---- It included Chairman Mao's wife and other

party leaders who were accused of corruption.

[hatrack]

6. I though it was the Gang of Four - wasn't the Gang of Eight the Soviet coup against Gorbachev?