Two men appeared in a Nairobi court on Tuesday accused of attempting to smuggle thousands of ants to China, a lucrative trade exposed last year in the east African country.
Chinese national Zhang Kequn was arrested at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport last week with more than 2,200 ants, including 1,948 of the sought-after Messor cephalotes species, in his luggage.
The insects are considered aphrodisiacs, delicacies and pets, said defence lawyer David Lusweti Namai.
Messor cephalotes ants are particularly prized and can fetch around $100 each abroad.
Kequn, born in 1998 according to court documents, appeared alongside Kenyan national Charles Mwangi, 35, accused of selling him 1,300 ants for 100 Kenyan shillings ($0.77) each.
Mwangi was arrested on March 13 in the Rift Valley in possession of 1,000 live ants of an unspecified species and 113 Messor cephalotes ants hidden in syringes.
He is accused of also selling ants to three people convicted for the same crime last year.
That case involved two Belgian teenagers, who were arrested in possession of nearly 5,000 ants, mostly stored in test tubes. They were fined roughly $7,700.
Kequn and Mwangi, who pleaded not guilty, are being prosecuted for wildlife trafficking without a permit and conspiracy, and face up to seven years in prison, according to their lawyer.
The next hearing is on March 27.
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