Fueling frustration for Sierra Leone parliamentarians, fugitive Dutch trafficker Joseph Leijdekkers allegedly masterminded a 30-ton cocaine shipment from his West African hideout, Spanish authorities told OCCRP. Leijdekkers has not been charged in the case.
One of Europe’s most wanted fugitives — Dutch drug trafficker Joseph “Jos” Leijdekkers — organized the cocaine shipment seized in a record bust on the high seas last month, a Spanish law enforcement official told OCCRP.
The vessel was apprehended in international waters off the West African coast on May 1 by Spain’s Civil Guard. On board, officers found more than 30 tons of cocaine worth over $954 million, and arrested 23 people including Dutch, Surinamese and Philippines nationals.
Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told reporters the bust was “one of the biggest, not only nationally but internationally.”
The cargo ship, called the Arconian, had set out from the Sierra Leonean capital of Freetown, according to a Spanish court document previously obtained by OCCRP. But until now, officials have not publicly said who they suspect was behind the cocaine shipment.
Spanish law enforcement believe it was organized by Leijdekkers, who is on the European Union’s most wanted list of fugitives and has a base in Sierra Leone.
“He is the one who [allegedly] set up the operation,” said Lieutenant Colonel Oscar Remacha, head of the Civil Guard’s anti-drug trafficking department.
“He had those 30 tons stored in Sierra Leone, and he organized the transport and supplied the drugs,” Remacha alleged in an interview with OCCRP.
The Spanish court document does not list Leijdekkers among those charged in the case.
Leijdekkers’ lawyer confirmed by phone that he had received emailed questions about the Spanish allegations from OCCRP, but said: “I see no reason to respond.”
Dutch authorities are offering a reward of 200,000 euros ($232,208) for tips leading to Leijdekkers’ arrest. A Netherlands court sentenced him in absentia in 2024 to 24 years in prison for drug trafficking, armed robbery, and ordering murder.
Dutch authorities have not been able to secure his extradition from Sierra Leone, where he is widely reported to be well connected with the country’s political and economic elite. Netherlands police this week said they had searched the homes of four crew members of the Arconian.
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