Kenyan authorities arrest Chinese national with 2,000 live queen ants at Nairobi airport

Kenyan authorities have arrested a Chinese national at Nairobi’s main airport after discovering more than 2,000 live queen garden ants hidden in his luggage, in a case investigators say points to a wider international trafficking network. According to the BBC, the suspect, identified as Zhang Kequn, was stopped during a security check at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport while preparing to board a flight to China. Officials say the ants were carefully packed and concealed inside his luggage.

Prosecutors told a Kenyan court that officers found 1,948 live garden ants placed inside specialised test tubes, with a further 300 hidden in tissue paper rolls. Allen Mulama, the state prosecutor, told the court, “Within his personal luggage there was found 1,948 garden ants packed in specialised test tubes.” The Kenya Wildlife Service said the arrest could lead to further detentions as investigators widen their probe into what they believe is an illegal harvesting network supplying exotic pet markets in Europe and Asia.