Spanish Police Seize Record Cocaine Shipment Off Western Sahara
What's Up Africa, Guardia Civil, Record Cocaine Seizure, Western Sahara, Cocaine Highway Theo Edwards What's Up Africa, Guardia Civil, Record Cocaine Seizure, Western Sahara, Cocaine Highway Theo Edwards

Spanish Police Seize Record Cocaine Shipment Off Western Sahara

Record Cocaine Seizure Off Western Sahara Coast near Morocco.

The elite Central Operational Unit of the Guardia Civil intercepted the ship near Dakhla, Western Sahara, and escorted it to Las Palmas in Gran Canaria, where it is now under the jurisdiction of a Spanish court.

The 90-metre Comoros-flagged merchant ship had left Freetown, Sierra Leone, on April 22 and was said to be heading to Benghazi. Authorities confirmed the arrest of 23 crew members, mostly nationals of the Philippines, Angola, and the Netherlands. Investigations into the crew, owners, and supply chain are underway.

#GuardiaCivil | #RecordCocaineSeizure

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'Bolle' Jos Leijdekkers and the Broader Developments in Dutch and International Organized Crime
What's Up Africa, International Pursuit – Jos Leijdekkers’ Investigative Timeline, Cocaine trafficking Theo Edwards What's Up Africa, International Pursuit – Jos Leijdekkers’ Investigative Timeline, Cocaine trafficking Theo Edwards

'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.

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