Dutch Minister enlists Ghana to help catch drug fugitive Bolle Jos

Jos Leijdekkers - Credit: - License: All Rights Reserved Crime Politics Friday, 9 October 2026 - 09:40

Minister David van Weel of Justice and Security has enlisted the help of Ghana in the hunt for Dutch drug trafficker Jos Leijdekkers, better known as Bolle Jos, the Telegraaf reported. Leijdekkers is living in Sierra Leone. The government hopes to have him in custody within a year, according to the newspaper.

The Netherlands will provide support to the Ghanaian police, hoping that the local authorities can help cut off Leijdekkers’ drug supply lines. The exact nature of this support is still being worked out, but it may involve deploying Dutch police officers to the African country.

Exactly what the Ghanaian authorities will be able to achieve remains to be seen. Ghana is 1,500 kilometers away from Sierra Leone, with two countries between them.

Bolle Jos has been sentenced to over 80 years in prison in the Netherlands and Belgium for drug trafficking and related crimes. He is currently in Sierra Leone, where he is said to have close ties with the president and his family. Leijdekkers has reportedly funneled billions of drug money into the Sierra Leone economy.

The Netherlands has been trying to get Leijdekkers extradited for months, even going so far as to convince the European Commission to halt development aid to the West African country. Though, the Commission insists that the aid was halted over administrative errors, not to get Leijdekkers extradited.

According to the Telegraaf, the government will soon announce new measures to exert pressure on Sierra Leone to get the drug trafficker into custody. In addition to enlisting the help of other African countries, the government is working on European measures to cripple his movements and freeze his assets. “He is still allowed to enter the Netherlands, but only on a once-off basis,” a source told the newspaper.