Sierra Leone has confirmed that Dutch national Jos Leijdekkers, one of Europe’s most wanted cocaine traffickers, is in the West African country and said it is working with Dutch authorities on his extradition.
The acknowledgement came from Information and Civic Education Minister Chernoh Bah, who told reporters in Freetown that the Office of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice was “actively collaborating” with the Dutch government and other international partners to ensure a swift and lawful process.
“The Office of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice is working closely with the Dutch authorities and other international partners to expedite the extradition process,” Bah said. “This process will strictly adhere to the country’s laws in order to uphold the rule of law.”
Leijdekkers, known by his nickname Bolle Jos, is wanted by the Dutch Public Prosecution Service (OM) for large-scale cocaine trafficking, money-laundering and organised crime.
He has been on the run since 2022, when prosecutors linked him to several tonnes of cocaine seized in the port of Rotterdam and to violent criminal networks in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Dutch authorities have previously said Leijdekkers is believed to have used West Africa as a transit point in the international drug trade. His case has been a priority for cooperation between Dutch police, Europol and West African security agencies.
Sierra Leone’s statement follows months of speculation over his whereabouts and growing scrutiny of the country’s diplomatic passport system after reports suggested some foreign nationals had obtained official Sierra Leonean documents.
Bah said the government had launched an internal investigation.
“The Government of Sierra Leone does not and will never knowingly issue the country’s passport to criminals,” he said.
Zacharia Jalloh of the government’s Strategic Communications Unit repeated the minister’s comments in a message shared via the ministry’s official WhatsApp channel.
The Dutch government and the Public Prosecution Service have not yet commented publicly on Freetown’s announcement.
It remains unclear when or under what legal framework Leijdekkers could be transferred to Dutch custody, as Sierra Leone and the Netherlands do not have a standing extradition treaty.
By Joe Turay
