'Bolle' Jos Leijdekkers and the Broader Developments in Dutch and International Organized Crime

European and African authorities have been locked in a high-stakes game for Jos Leijdekkers, the Dutch-born cocaine trafficker widely known by the alias Bolle Jos. Convicted in absentia and on Europol’s most-wanted list, Leijdekkers remains a fugitive — eluding capture and drawing fresh international scrutiny as law enforcement ramps up efforts to bring him to justice.

The Netherlands has formally requested Leijdekkers’ arrest and extradition from Sierra Leone, but progress has been slow and complicated by politics and legal barriers.

While Leijdekkers remains free, remnants of the Dutch organized crime underworld continue to make headlines. Ridouan Taghi, once the Netherlands’ most-wanted fugitive linked to the notorious Mocro Maffia network, was arrested in the United Arab Emirates in 2019 and sentenced to life in prison after a landmark trial known as the Marengo case.