Post a comment 
French customs officers seized a multi-ton cocaine shipment linked to the organisation of Dutch fugitive Jos Leijdekkers, aboard a cargo vessel from Ghana on Sunday night.
The vessel was searched in the port of Dunkirk—its final stop before Antwerp, Belgium—based on specific intelligence rather than a routine inspection. According to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf and Belgian outlet HLN, Dutch and French investigators believe part of the drugs belong to Leijdekkers’ criminal network, with the consignment destined for a business address in Dordrecht, Netherlands.
The seizure involved “many thousands of kilograms” of cocaine with an estimated street value of tens of millions of euros. It is one of several large cocaine interceptions announced by French authorities in recent weeks :
-
On 3 September, officers found 347 kilograms (valued at €13 million) in a truck driven by a Dutch national on the A7 motorway in the Drôme region
-
On 27 August, more than 231 kilograms (valued at €6.8 million) were found hidden in the ventilation system of a Dutch-plated truck near Dijon
-
On 17 July, over 165 kilograms were recovered from the air-conditioning unit of another Dutch truck in the same area
Leijdekkers, known as “Bolle Jos,” is one of Europe’s most wanted drug traffickers and is believed to be hiding in Sierra Leone. In 2023, the Rotterdam District Court sentenced him in absentia to 24 years in prison for his role in six cocaine shipments totalling almost 7,000 kilograms, among other offences.
Europol and Dutch authorities are offering a €200,000 reward for information leading to his arrest. Investigators allege Leijdekkers has enjoyed protection from influential individuals in Sierra Leone, with reports suggesting he has married into President Julius Maada Bio’s family.
Justice Minister Alpha Sesay and the Bio administration have denied the allegations and claimed Leijdekkers is not in Sierra Leone. But investigative reports have raised doubts about those denials.
Investigators believe Leijdekkers’ organisation has increasingly used West African ports to ship cocaine to Europe following heightened scrutiny of his alleged Sierra Leone safe haven. The Arconian, a cargo vessel carrying 30 tons of cocaine worth €812 million, was intercepted in May 2026 after departing Freetown, with 23 arrests.
Reports suggest Leijdekkers is facing mounting financial pressure, with sources indicating he has struggled to pay his Sierra Leonean protectors and has accumulated debts with the Cali Cartel. Dutch Justice Minister David van Weel expressed confidence last week that Leijdekkers would be arrested.
