Dutch Police Raise Reward to €2 Million for Capture of Cocaine Kingpin Jos Leijdekkers

Dutch police have announced a record €2 million (£1.7 million/$2.24 million) reward for information that leads to the arrest of Jos Leijdekkers, described by authorities as a “key player” in the international cocaine trade.

The 35‑year‑old, also known as “Bolle Jos” (Chubby Jos), was previously accused by Dutch police of being “one of the key players in international cocaine trafficking”.

Justice Minister David van Weel said the ten‑fold increase in the reward was “necessary given the threat that Leijdekkers poses to national security, our democratic rule of law, and the international legal order”.

Prosecutors in the Netherlands have labelled the capture of Leijdekkers as their “highest priority” and promised that any tips will be kept confidential.

Leijdekkers was photographed at a church service in Tihun, Sierra Leone, in January 2025, and is listed by Europol among its most‑wanted fugitives.

In January 2025, Dutch police reported that he was believed to be residing in Sierra Leone under the name Omar Sherrif, and images have surfaced showing him alongside President Julius Maada Bio and other officials.

Dutch prosecutors have demanded his extradition, but Sierra Leone has refused to cooperate, a stance that has led the EU to cut some aid to the country.

West Africa serves as a major transit point for cocaine moving from Latin America, a route that Leijdekkers is alleged to have exploited.

In 2024, a Rotterdam court sentenced him in absentia to 24 years in prison for smuggling more than seven metric tons of cocaine; he also carries a 79‑year sentence in Belgium.

Authorities estimate that he has earned tens of millions of euros from cocaine smuggling and accuse him of money laundering and involvement in extreme violence.

Several other police investigations are ongoing in the Netherlands, underscoring the broader crackdown on drug networks.