Wanted Dutch drug-trafficker ‘is in Sierra Leone’
Dutch authorities say Europe’s most wanted fugitive has been living in Sierra Leone for nearly six months.
Jos Leijsdeckers, 33, was sentenced in his absence to 24 years in prison by a Rotterdam court on June 25 last year for trafficking more than seven tonnes of cocaine.
Dutch prosecutor Wim de Bruin said the fugitive’s return to the Netherlands was a “top priority”.
“We are making every possible effort in this regard but due to the ongoing investigation, we cannot comment on it,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Dutch Public Prosecution Service (OM) said the Lijsdeckers had been living in Sierra Leone for about six months.
They said he was known by the alias Bole Jose and was suspected to be living in Türkiye until recently.
Sierra Leone officials have not commented on the claims.
The Reuters news agency reported that the Leijsdeckers were spotted in Sierra Leone in January after the wife of Sierra Leone’s president posted on social media a video of a church service she was attending with her husband.
According to Reuters, leasedeckers can be seen in the video. The BBC has not been able to confirm the footage.
Dutch police have described the Leijsdeckers as “one of the major players in international cocaine trafficking”.
A $210,000 (£168,000) reward is being offered for information leading to his arrest. This is reportedly the highest amount ever paid for a Dutch fugitive.
The Lijsdeckers are listed as one of the most wanted fugitives by Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement agency.
West Africa is a major transit point for cocaine trafficking from Latin America.
On January 17, Sierra Leone recalls its ambassador from neighboring Guinea After seven suitcases filled with suspected cocaine were found in an embassy vehicle.
Sierra Leone’s Foreign Minister Alhaji Musa Timothy Kaba said Guinean authorities seized a Sierra Leonean embassy vehicle and detained its occupants on suspicion of possessing “a substance suspected to be cocaine.”
“In light of this serious development, the Government has immediately recalled Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to Guinea, Ambassador Mr. Alimami Bangura, to Freetown to provide a full account of the incident,” he said.
The minister said the recalled messenger was not in the car and has not been arrested.
“It has not been proven that the ambassador is involved in this smuggling,” he said.
