The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) today arraigned a man accused of supplying live ants to foreigners.
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.
Prosecution Counsel John Tago and Mercy Katsivo told the court that after the arrest of the suspect, a further follow-up was done at Moonlight Hotel within Nakuru town, where it was ascertained through retrieved CCTV footage that the suspect had earlier supplied the same ants to a Chinese national by the name Zhang Kequn on 5th March 2026.
The prosecution further linked the suspect to supplying the garden ant’s consignment that was seized in Bangkok on 10 March 2026, which originated from Mombasa, Kenya, where another key associate is reported to be domiciled.
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.
