Dutch police offer record €2m reward in hunt for cocaine trafficker Jos Leijdekkers
Dutch authorities have raised to a record €2m the reward for information leading to the arrest of Jos Leijdekkers, a convicted cocaine smuggler believed to be living in Sierra Leone. Prosecutors describe his capture as their highest priority amid an extradition standoff that has prompted the EU to cut some aid to the country.
BBC World
Dutch authorities have offered a record reward of €2m (£1.7m/$2.24m) for information leading to the arrest of Jos Leijdekkers, whom Dutch police describe as a key player in the international cocaine trade and one of Europe's most-wanted men.
The 35-year-old Dutchman, known in the Netherlands as Bolle Jos, or Chubby Jos, saw the reward increased ten-fold. Justice Minister David van Weel said the rise was necessary given the threat Leijdekkers poses to national security, the country's democratic rule of law and the international legal order.
Dutch prosecutors said capturing Leijdekkers is their highest priority and promised that anyone sharing information would have it kept secret. He also features on the most-wanted fugitives list of Europol, the EU's law enforcement agency.
In January 2025, Dutch police said they believed Leijdekkers was living in Sierra Leone under the name Omar Sherrif. He was pictured that month at a church service in Tihun, Sierra Leone, and images have emerged that apparently show him in the company of President Julius Maada Bio and other officials.
Dutch prosecutors have demanded his extradition, but Sierra Leone has refused to cooperate, prompting the European Union to cut some aid to the country. West Africa is a major transit point for cocaine trafficked from Latin America.
In 2024, a court in Rotterdam sentenced Leijdekkers in absentia to 24 years in prison after finding him guilty of smuggling more than seven metric tons of cocaine. He has also been sentenced to 79 years in prison in Belgium.
Dutch authorities estimate that Leijdekkers has made tens of millions of euros from cocaine smuggling, and they accuse him of money laundering and involvement in the use of extreme violence. Several other police investigations in the Netherlands remain ongoing.