NAIROBI- A Chinese national Zhang Kequn, was arrested at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) after authorities discovered more than 2,000 live queen garden ants hidden in his luggage as he prepared to travel to China.
Prosecutors told a Nairobi court that the ants, which are protected under international biodiversity agreements, were packed in specialised test tubes and tissue tolls.
Investigators suspect that Zhang is part of an organised ant-trafficking ring supplying exotic ant collectors in Europe and Asia.
“His personal search, and within that luggage 1,948 garden ants were packed in specialised test tubes. A further 300 live ants were also recovered which were again concealed in three rolls of tissue,” stated Allen Mulama, prosecutor at JKIA Law Courts.
The arrest comes nearly one year after another attempt was foiled at the same airport where two Belgian nationals, one Vietnamese national and a Kenyan were arrested with 5,000 giant African harvester ants bound for China.
