Dutch police offer record €2m reward for cocaine fugitive Jos Leijdekkers
The Netherlands has raised its reward for information leading to the arrest of convicted cocaine trafficker Jos Leijdekkers to a record €2m, describing his capture as its highest priority. The 35-year-old, believed to be living in Sierra Leone, has been sentenced in absentia by courts in both the Netherlands and Belgium.
BBC World
Dutch authorities have offered a record reward of €2m (£1.7m/$2.24m) for information leading to the arrest of Jos Leijdekkers, one of Europe's most-wanted men and, according to Dutch police, a key player in the international cocaine trade.
The reward for the 35-year-old, who is also known by the nickname Bolle Jos, has been increased ten-fold. Dutch justice minister David van Weel said the higher sum was "necessary given the threat that Leijdekkers poses to national security, our democratic rule of law, and the international legal order".
Dutch prosecutors described capturing Leijdekkers as their "highest priority" and said any information provided would be kept secret. He is listed by Europol, the EU's law enforcement agency, among its most-wanted fugitives.
In January 2025, Dutch police said they believed Leijdekkers was living in Sierra Leone under the name Omar Sherrif. He was pictured at a church service in the town of Tihun that month, and images have emerged that apparently show him in the company of Sierra Leone's President Julius Maada Bio and other officials.
Dutch prosecutors have demanded his extradition, but Sierra Leone has refused to cooperate, prompting the EU 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. They also accuse him of money laundering and involvement in the use of extreme violence.
Several other police investigations into Leijdekkers remain ongoing in the Netherlands.