Two men in Kenyan court for ant-smuggling / Photo: © AFP
-
Demi Vollering wins Tour de France Femmes
-
Sinner withdraws from Cincinnati Open with knee injury
-
Iraola's first Anfield match as Liverpool manager ends in Monaco defeat
-
Fernandez's 'perfect' race earns him British MotoGP Grand Prix win
-
Bodies hanging from bridge revive violence in once-calm town in Mexico
-
Iran Guards say won't reopen Hormuz without US meeting Tehran's demands
-
Lionel Messi bids farewell to father who guided his glittering career
-
Hogh's hat-trick inspires Celtic to 5-1 victory over Kilmarnock
-
Raul Fernandez wins British MotoGP Grand Prix
-
London grants first licences for supervised Uber robotaxis
-
Tesla FSD secrecy puts Europe’s safety oversight under scrutiny
-
Erasmus hopeful Kolisi hamstring injury not 'too bad'
-
Mercedes-AMG GT 53 balances speed, range and daily usability
-
Luxury car buyers trade prestige for mainstream value
-
Lion queen Werro focused on Euro medal, not 800m world record
-
Students, teachers mourn girl killed in Thailand school shooting
-
Changan uses FILDA 2026 to accelerate its African expansion
-
Jacobson to lead New Zealand for first time against Sharks
-
Honda plots a profitable European comeback without a price war
-
Typhoon Dolphin makes landfall in China after flight cancellations, evacuations
-
Iran Guards say won't reopen Hormuz without US meeting all Tehran's conditions
-
South Korea FA apologises after sex scandal adds to controversies
-
Messi absent after father's death as Miami lose in Leagues Cup
-
Indonesia closes national park as wildfire spreads
-
Flight cancellations, evacuations in China as Typhoon Dolphin looms
-
ZXMoto leads China's charge to dominate the global motorbike market
-
Iran issues demands for reopening of Hormuz
-
Top-ranked Sabalenka, Pegula stunned in Toronto fourth round
-
Afghanistan's gold rush upends lives and landscapes
-
Japan nuclear debate unnerves proponents of pacifism
-
Messi missing after father's death as Miami lose in Leagues Cup
-
Spanish teen Jodar ousts eighth seed Lehecka at Montreal
-
World number one Sabalenka ousted in Toronto by Alexandrova
-
Angers mounts in US over vast network of car license plate cams
-
Olympic weightlifter hoists debris for Venezuela earthquake recovery
-
Darderi to face Nakashima in Montreal quarter-finals
-
FIFA condemns 'concerted and ongoing effort' to weaken Infantino
-
Espresso power fires Darderi past Borges in Montreal
-
South Africa win after surviving late Argentina surge
-
Shnaider upsets Pegula to book Toronto quarter-final with Swiatek
-
Man Utd boss Carrick being 'careful' with Mount as Man Utd draw with PSG
-
Mount injury overshadows Man Utd draw with Paris Saint-Germain
Two men in Kenyan court for ant-smuggling
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.
F.Müller--BTB
