The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions on Monday, March 16, arraigned a man in connection with supplying live ants to foreign nationals in a case linked to an international wildlife trafficking network.
In a statement, the ODPP said the accused, Charles Mwangi, was arraigned at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport court.
The suspect was arrested after police officers searched his house and recovered 1,000 unpackaged live garden ants, 113 live garden ants packaged in modified syringes, and 503 empty syringes.
“Charles Mwangi was arraigned at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport court after police conducted a search of his house and recovered 1,000 unpackaged live garden ants, 113 live garden ants packaged in modified syringes, and 503 empty syringes,” the statement read.
During the proceedings, Prosecution Counsel John Tago and Mercy Katsivo told the court that investigators conducted further follow-up after Mwangi’s arrest.
The prosecution said detectives traced activities at Moonlight Hotel in Nakuru town, where CCTV footage allegedly showed the suspect supplying a batch of the ants to a Chinese national identified as Zhang Kequn on March 5, 2026.
The prosecution further linked the suspect to supplying the garden ants’ consignment that was seized in Bangkok on 10 March 2026, which originated from Mombasa, Kenya.
Mwangi is accused of having a tight link to accomplices located in Naivasha sub-county, Mombasa, and Kajiado Counties within the country.
“The respondent supplied the said ants in April 2025 to three suspects, Vietnamese, Belgian, and Kenyan, who were arrested and charged in court in JKIA Law Court,” Tago told the court.
Senior Principal Magistrate Irene Gichobi directed that the suspect be detained at Langata police station for three days to allow investigations to be completed. The case will be mentioned on 19th March 2026.
