Netherlands is the main source of synthetic drug Kush in Sierra Leone
The Netherlands and the United Kingdom are the main suppliers of Kush, a deadly synthetic drug, in Sierra Leone, Nieuwsuur reports based on a report by Clingendael and the Global Initiative, organizations that conduct research into organized crime. Kush is causing havoc in the West African country to the point that President Julius Maada Bio declared a state of emergency in April last year.
Kush is relatively new on the market and is dirt cheap. It contains synthetic cannabis and in about half of the cases also nitazenes - an extremely deadly painkiller that is significantly stronger than heroin. In Sierra Leone, young people on Kush walk the streets like zombies and several morgues are struggling to keep up with all the bodies, according to Nieuwsuur.
According to Clingendael and Global Initiative, the largest shipment of Kush ever seized in Sierra Leone came from the Netherlands. It involved 300 kilograms of the drug intercepted in the spring of 2024. A cocaine smuggler convicted in the Netherlands is also allegedly one of the biggest players in the Kush market. Source research within the country’s criminal circuit also showed that the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are consistently mentioned as countries of origin.
Sierra Leone made headlines in the Netherlands in January when Jos Leijdekkers, a convicted drug criminal also known as Bolle Jos, turned up in a social media video attending the same New Year’s church service as the president. There are currently no indications that Leijdekkers, one of the most wanted criminals in the Netherlands, is involved in Kush.
But according to Clingendael researcher Kars de Bruijne, Leijdekkers is definitely not the only Dutch drug dealer in West Africa. Synthetic drugs from the Netherlands are popping up in multiple countries and Dutch criminals are involved in professional cannabis cultivation in the region. “Dutch criminals really see West Africa as the promised land,” De Bruijne told the program.
The Netherlands has too little insight into what is happening in West Africa, De Bruijne said. Currently, a total of four Dutch police liaisons in Nigeria, Ghana, and Morocco are trying to monitor the entire West African region. “There is a lack of extradition treaties and information exchange needs to be improved.” According to De Bruijne, the Netherlands is much more concerned about “what comes in as cocaine than what goes out as synthetic drugs.”
The Ministry of Justice and Security told Nieuwsuur that it has few to no signals that the Netherlands is a production or transit country for synthetic drugs to West Africa. “We cannot completely rule it out and we remain alert,” a spokesperson said.
