By Hafsa Khalil u2014 BBC News
A Chinese national has been sentenced to a year in prison for attempting to smuggle thousands of live queen garden ants out of Kenya.
The court in Nairobi on Wednesday also fined Zhang Kequn 1m Kenyan shillings (u00a35,713; $7,737). Judge Irene Gichobi described Zhang as not u201centirely honestu201d and lacking in remorse.
Last month, he was charged with illegally dealing in wildlife species after being arrested at Nairobiu2019s main airport while attempting to travel to China with more than 2,000 ants in his luggage.
Kenyan authorities have warned of a growing demand for the ants in Europe and Asia, where they are prized by collectors. They can be worth around $220 (u00a3170) each.
u201cThere is need for a stiff deterrent sentence,u201d Judge Gichobi said, noting the u201crising cases of dealing in large quantities of garden ants and the negative ecological side effectsu201d.
After serving his year in prison, Zhang will be u201creferred to his home countryu201d, she added. He has 14 days to appeal against the sentence, which his lawyer says he will do.
He initially pleaded not guilty to the chargesu2014including dealing in live wildlifeu2014but later changed his plea to guilty.
Following Zhangu2019s arrest at Nairobiu2019s international airport on 10 March, the court heard he had bought the ants from Kenyan national Charles Mwangi at 10,000 Kenyan shillings (u00a358; $77) for every 100 of them. Mwangi was also charged and is currently out on bail.
In May last year, a Kenyan court sentenced four menu2014two Belgians, a Vietnamese and a Kenyanu2014to one year in prison or a fine of $7,700 (u00a35,800) for trying to smuggle thousands of live queen ants out of the country. The insects were reportedly destined for collectors in Europe and Asia.