Belgium sentences Dutch fugitive "Bolle Jos" to 8 years for drug trafficking
Jos Leijdekkers, 34, known as “Bolle Jos,” was sentenced in absentia to eight years in prison and fined 24,000 euros by a Belgian court for smuggling roughly 3,500 kilograms of cocaine into Antwerp’s Waaslandhaven in 2020, NOS reported. Sixteen other defendants received prison terms ranging from 30 months to five years and various fines, while an eighteenth suspect was acquitted.
Leijdekkers has a long history of drug convictions. Last year in the Netherlands, he was sentenced to 24 years for organizing six cocaine shipments totaling nearly 7,000 kilograms, a violent robbery in Finland, and ordering a hit.
In Belgium, he previously received seven years for cocaine trafficking and ten years for involvement in the assault of a security guard in Antwerp. In July, a Dutch court ruled he must pay over 96 million euros to the state in a confiscation case.
Currently, Leijdekkers is a fugitive and internationally sought. He is believed to be in Sierra Leone.
Earlier this year, a video surfaced showing him attending a New Year’s church service in the hometown of President Julius Maada Bio, standing two rows behind the president. Reports that he sat next to a presidential daughter were denied by Bio, who said he does not know Leijdekkers. Julius Maada had also previously denied knowing him.
Dutch authorities have formally requested his extradition from Sierra Leone, but the request has not yet been successful.
Additional footage obtained by Follow the Money and AD shows Leijdekkers attending a private birthday party in March 2024 for Alusine Kanneh, head of the Sierra Leone immigration service, presenting a gift during Kanneh’s 50th birthday celebration.
