Chinese National Arrested for Smuggling Ants in Kenya
This week, Kenyan authorities apprehended a Chinese man after discovering over 2,200 live garden ants concealed in his luggage at Nairobi’s major airport.
The individual, identified as Chan Kegun, 27, was taken into custody at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Tuesday while attempting to board a flight out of the country. Court documents reviewed indicated that the total count of ants was 2,238, with 1,948 sealed in test tubes and the remainder wrapped in three rolls of soft tissue.
Chan’s stay in Kenya lasted approximately two weeks, during which he claimed three associates supplied him with the insects. It turns out that Kenyan immigration had already suspended his passport due to accusations of avoiding arrest in a prior visit last year. The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) informed the court that more time was necessary for a thorough investigation, which includes forensic analysis of the iPhone and MacBook seized from Chan upon his arrest.
Prosecutors suspect that he might have been involved in a human trafficking ring that was dismantled by Kenyan authorities back in 2025. Allegedly, he fled the nation using a different passport to escape legal consequences. KWS officer Duncan Juma stated that further arrests are anticipated as investigators dig deeper.
The ants involved belong to the species Messore cephalotes, which is protected under international biodiversity agreements, and trading them is heavily regulated. Interest in these insects has surged among collectors in Europe and Asia, where they are often kept as exotic pets. In a related 2025 case, four individuals, including two Belgians and one Vietnamese national, were convicted. After pleading guilty, they received sentences of one year in prison or were fined approximately $7,700 each.
On the very same Tuesday, another batch of Kenyan ants was intercepted in Bangkok, suggesting that an organized international smuggling network may be operating, with various transport routes in play. KWS dubbed last year’s prosecution a “landmark case,” marking the first instance where a Kenyan court extended wildlife protection measures typically associated with elephant ivory and rhino horn to include insects.
