Post a comment 
A major new report on cocaine markets in West Africa has identified Sierra Leone as a growing strategic base for international drug trafficking, citing its use by a fugitive Dutch kingpin with alleged political connections and its role as a key node for containerized cocaine exports to Europe.
The report, published in March 2026 by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC), maps how West Africa has become a major trans-shipment point for cocaine from Latin America to Europe, with the trade expanding sharply since 2019. Sierra Leone features prominently as a country where transnational criminal networks are increasingly entrenched.
According to the findings, the port of Freetown is a critical export hub. In one highlighted case, a Serbian-led network imported non-containerized cocaine from Brazil via a fishing vessel, containerized the drugs in Sierra Leone, and then exported the consignment hidden among cocoa husks in a container bound for Antwerp, Belgium.
The report also details how Sierra Leone has become a haven for fugitive drug kingpins. It names Dutch national Jos Leijdekkers, who was sentenced in absentia to 24 years in prison by a Belgian court in June 2024 and to an additional 13 years in February 2025 for large-scale drug trafficking.
Leijdekkers is believed to have been operating from Sierra Leone since at least 2022. The report notes widespread media reporting from January 2025 that detailed his alleged connections to members of Sierra Leone’s presidential family and other state actors. His apparent impunity in the country, despite international attention, is described in the report as a potential draw for other kingpins fleeing justice elsewhere.
The report further notes that in January 2025, Sierra Leone recalled its ambassador to neighboring Guinea after suitcases of cocaine were found in embassy vehicles.
Beyond the transit trade, the report warns of growing local impacts. It states that crack cocaine is now among the most consumed drugs in Freetown, citing surveys of people who use drugs. It also notes a reported uptick in coastal communities of fishermen being asked to transport cocaine—sometimes over 100 kilograms—between domestic points or to other countries, most prominently Guinea. These movements are said to be coordinated predominantly by foreign actors.
The influx of immense drug profits threatens to destabilize local governance. The GI-TOC report warns that the sheer profitability of the cocaine trade acts as a powerful corrupting influence, enabling elite capture and shifting the incentives of policymakers. This penetration of illicit funds into the state infrastructure threatens to cause devastating long-term impacts on public service provision and socio-economic development across the region.
The GI-TOC report is based on over 190 interviews conducted in 2025, analysis of judicial and law enforcement investigations, and a review of encrypted communications between criminal actors.
