Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“A Chinese man and his Kenyan associate have been charged with illegally dealing in wildlife species after they were caught trying to smuggle more than 2,000 live queen garden ants out of Kenya. Zhang Kequn was arrested at the international airport in the capital Nairobi last week after authorities discovered the large consignment of ants in his luggage – each of them either stashed in a test tube or wrapped in tissue. On Tuesday, a court in Nairobi heard that Zhang bought the ants from Charles Mwangi at 10,000 Kenyan shillings ($77; £58) for every 100 of them. Kenyan authorities have been warning about of a growing demand for garden ants in Europe and Asia, where collectors keep them as pets. Officials have not said if this were the case for the insects Zhang tried to bring out of the country, but his luggage was bound for China.” (03/18/26)