• Traveler caught with over 2,200 live ants in Nairobi

A Chinese man was arrested this week at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi after authorities found more than 2,200 live ants in his luggage, amid a rise in insect smuggling across Kenya.

Court documents revealed that 27-year-old Zhang Kequn was stopped while trying to leave the country, following a “stop order” on his passport after evading arrest in Kenya last year.

Ant enthusiasts pay substantial sums to maintain colonies in large transparent containers called formicariums, which allow close observation of the species’ complex social structures and behaviors.

Last year, four men were fined $7,700 each for attempting to traffic thousands of ants considered ecologically valuable in Kenya—a case experts said signals a shift in biopiracy from high-profile trophies like elephant ivory to lesser-known species.

Investigators said a search of Zhang’s luggage recovered 2,238 ants, including 1,948 packed in test tubes and the rest in three rolls of soft tissue paper. He also named three accomplices who supplied him with the insects during his two-week stay in Kenya.

The Kenya Wildlife Service told the court it needs more time to complete investigations, including examining an iPhone and MacBook seized from Zhang.

Authorities added that a similar shipment of ants originating from Kenya was intercepted in Bangkok on Tuesday, pointing to the existence of a large and organized ant-smuggling network.