Manhunt underway after one of Europe’s most-wanted fugitives spotted at religious service in Sierra Leone, police say
Police in Sierra Leone said they were hunting Dutch drug traffickers, one of Europe’s most popular fugitives, believed to be hiding in West African countries.
Jos Leijdekkers was sentenced to 24 years in prison by a Rotterdam court for organizing seven tons of cocaine and ordering murder.
Suspicion that he was in Sierra Leone, the country’s first lady Fatima Beio posted a picture and a video on social media showing a man attending a president of Julius Maada Beio Religious rituals show that a person is very similar to Leijdekkers.
National Police Inspector General William Fayia Sellu said investigators identified the man as Leijdekkers, alias “Omar Sheriff”.
First Lady Fatima Maada Bio via Facebook/via Reuters
“The police’s hunting has been initiated to arrest him, visited several locations, but he has not been found yet,” he said in a press conference.
The 33-year-old – also known as “Bolle Jos” (“Chubby Jos”) – was in the EU law enforcement agency Europol The most popular list.
“Leijdekkers are considered one of the major players in international cocaine trafficking,” Europol said.
Leijdekkers are also believed to have been involved in the disappearance and death of Naima Jillal, who disappeared in 2019 after she got on the car in Amsterdam According to Europol. The agency said the truncated news allegedly showed that Legidex “played an important role in Gillal’s disappearance”.
“For a long time, there were no traces of Naima Jillal until a woman who was believed to be her was found in the phone call caught in the Marengo investigation,” Europol said. “The photo shows that she is likely to be tortured and may not be alive anymore.”
last month, BBC Report That Dutch prosecutor, Wim de Bruin, said the return of the fugitive to the Netherlands was “the highest priority.”
Europol offers a reward of 200,000-Euro ($208,000) for the information that led to the arrest.
As the BBC notes, West Africa is the main crossing point for cocaine trafficking in Latin America. last month, Sierra Leone recalls ambassadors from neighboring Guinea After seven suitcases containing cocaine were found in the embassy vehicle.
