A pre-dawn gun battle in the Dutch village of Overasselt has resulted in one death and two police officers injured, authorities reported. The incident, which involved a group of heavily armed men attacking a house and subsequently engaging police, has led to the arrest of 34 individuals.
Local media reports suggest a connection to Jos Leijdekkers, a notorious drug lord also known as 'Fat Jos,' who is considered one of the Netherlands' most wanted criminals. The violence occurred around 4 a.m. Tuesday when masked men approached a residence, opening fire. A 51-year-old security guard was killed in the exchange, and two officers sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Police seized several weapons, data storage devices, and vehicles following the shootout. Authorities urged residents to remain indoors during the initial response, citing concerns that other suspects might still be at large. The arrested individuals are described as international, including French, Belgian, Algerian, and Dutch nationals.
Prosecutors are considering a range of charges, including murder, manslaughter, and attempted kidnapping, and have indicated that further arrests are possible. The deputy chief prosecutor noted that the same house was the site of a shooting last year, linked to an ongoing conflict.
Leijdekkers has a history of convictions for international cocaine trafficking and has reportedly been living in Sierra Leone for at least three years, allegedly in a relationship with the daughter of the country's president, Julius Maada Bio. Dutch newspaper Het Parool reported that the gun battle may stem from a dispute over hundreds of kilograms of cocaine attributed to Leijdekkers' organization. The estimated turnover of his organization has been calculated by Dutch prosecutors to be as high as £145 million per month, or £1.7 billion annually. He faces a sentence of over 100 years in absentia in the Netherlands and Belgium, alongside a record fine of £82 million for drug trafficking.
In March 2024, the Spanish Civil Guard seized over 30 tons of cocaine, valued at an estimated £700 million, from a cargo ship in international waters. Police believe Leijdekkers orchestrated this shipment, which departed from Freetown, Sierra Leone, and was intended to be broken down by smaller vessels for distribution along the Spanish coast. This seizure represented the largest single bust of the drug in history.
Leijdekkers has adopted the pseudonym Omar Sheriff but is widely known as 'Bolle' Jos, Dutch for chubby. Despite being a fugitive, he reportedly lives with impunity in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, where he is believed to have purchased villas at a luxury resort. His presence in Sierra Leone has drawn scrutiny, particularly after he was photographed with Agnes Bio, the daughter of President Bio, and at a birthday celebration for Sierra Leone's immigration chief. Though President Bio initially denied knowing Leijdekkers, his daughter's association and Leijdekkers' public appearances have raised questions. Investigations have also uncovered legal control of Leijdekkers' residences in Freetown through a business associate, and his alleged ownership of apartments in Dubai. Encrypted communications have provided investigators insight into the scale of his operations, suggesting he was a principal organizer in an international cocaine network moving consignments through the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp since 2019.