Dutch police post record €2m bounty for fugitive drug lord 'Chubby Jos'

Dutch police have slapped a record €2m (£1.7m/$2.24m) bounty on the head of Jos Leijdekkers, the cocaine kingpin they rank among Europe's most-wanted men. That is ten times the previous offer. Justice minister David van Weel said the increase was necessary given the threat Leijdekkers poses to national security, to the democratic rule of law and to the international legal order. Prosecutors called catching him their highest priority and promised that any tip-off would be kept secret.

Leijdekkers, 35, goes by Bolle Jos — Dutch for Chubby Jos. Police have described him as one of the key players in international cocaine trafficking, and Europol lists him among its most-wanted fugitives. Investigators estimate he has pocketed tens of millions of euros from smuggling. They also accuse him of money laundering and of involvement in extreme violence.

The courts have already caught up with him on paper. In 2024, a Rotterdam court convicted him in absentia and handed him 24 years in prison for smuggling more than seven metric tons of cocaine. Belgium has gone even further, sentencing him to 79 years. Several other Dutch investigations are still running.

So where is he? In January 2025, Dutch police said they believed he was living in Sierra Leone under the name Omar Sherrif. Images apparently showing him in the company of President Julius Maada Bio and other officials have previously surfaced. Dutch prosecutors have demanded his extradition, but Sierra Leone has refused to cooperate — prompting the EU to cut some aid to the country.

The geography is no accident. West Africa is a major transit point for cocaine flowing out of Latin America, which helps explain why a Dutch fugitive might put down roots there — and why the Netherlands is now putting serious money behind getting him back.