Dutch special forces plan to arrest Bolle Jos twice called off at last minute
The Dutch special forces were ready to arrest the wanted drug trafficker Bolle Jos in Sierra Leone. But the operation “at the highest level” was called off at the last minute at least twice, crime journalist John van den Heuvel reported in a new documentary on Videoland and in an interview with the Telegraaf.
Jos Leijdekkers, known as Bolle Jos, is the Netherlands’ most wanted criminal. He is facing various years-long prison sentences for drug trafficking and related crimes. Just this week, he was sentenced to eight years in prison for trafficking cocaine from Sierra Leone, where he is in hiding in Sierra Leone. He is reportedly very well connected in the West African country, including a romantic relationship with the Sierra Leone President’s daughter.
The Netherlands has made multiple attempts to get Leijdekkers extradited, but so far without success. So a plan was made to arrest him in the African country, according to Van den Heuvel.
Last autumn, the Dutch intelligence services knew exactly where in Sierra Leone Bolle Jos found himself. The Netherlands had purchased a cargo ship to spy on the criminal discreetly and had located him. Special units of the Marine Corps and the Special Intervention Service were “waiting for the perfect timing” off the coast of the West African country.
But then the arrest was called off at the last moment, up to two times. “Several government officials were terrified by the plan, and emotions ran very high during the discussions,” Van der Heuvel said. According to the crime reporter, government officials were also “concerned about their own safety.”
The crime reporter thinks that the chance to arrest Bolle Jos has been missed. The “momentum has disappeared,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service (OM) would “neither confirm nor deny” Van der Heuvel’s account to the Telegraaf. “We never comment on ongoing investigations or actions in connection with an arrest.”
The new season of the Videoland Original Bolle Jos is available on Videoland from today.
