Dutch police have announced a record reward of €2 million (approximately $2.2 million) for information leading to the arrest of Jos Leijdekkers, a fugitive drug lord believed to be living in Sierra Leone. Leijdekkers has been convicted in absentia in the Netherlands and Belgium for large-scale cocaine smuggling.
Europol, the European Union's law enforcement agency, has listed Leijdekkers among its most-wanted fugitives. Dutch prosecutors estimate he has amassed tens of millions of euros from illicit activities and accuse him of money laundering and involvement in extreme violence.
In January 2025, Dutch police stated that Leijdekkers was believed to be in Sierra Leone, where he was reportedly using the name Omar Sherrif. Images have previously emerged that appear to show him in the company of Sierra Leone's President Julius Maada Bio and other officials. Dutch authorities have sought his extradition, but Sierra Leone has refused to cooperate, leading the EU to reduce some of its aid to the country.
West Africa serves as a significant transit point for cocaine trafficking from Latin America. In 2024, a court in Rotterdam sentenced Leijdekkers to 24 years in prison after finding him guilty of smuggling over seven metric tons of cocaine. He has also received a 79-year prison sentence in Belgium. Several other police investigations involving Leijdekkers are ongoing in the Netherlands.