Dutch fugitive drug trafficker Jos Leijdekkers, nicknamed “Bolle Jos,” has been handed a 14-year prison sentence in Belgium for his role in the large-scale Costa drug case. The sentence was the highest issued on Thursday, when the court delivered verdicts for the various defendants involved. The court imposed a sentence that was one year less than the 15-year prison term recommended by prosecutors.
Nathan Steveniers, described by prosecutors as a key figure within Leijdekkers’ criminal organization, received an eight-year prison sentence from the court in Tongeren.
The trial focuses on large-scale cocaine smuggling through the port of Antwerp and the laundering of proceeds from the drug trade. Prosecutors hold the suspects responsible for the importation of at least 25 tons of cocaine, worth an estimated €3.5 billion on the street market.
Prosecutors requested a combined total of 451 years in prison for the more than 50 defendants involved in the case.
Leijdekkers is reportedly hiding in Sierra Leone, according to authorities. The Netherlands has requested his extradition from the West African country, while Dutch justice officials are offering a €200,000 reward for information leading to his capture. The Brabant native remains on Europol’s list of most wanted criminals.
In the Netherlands, Leijdekkers has been handed a 24-year prison sentence for drug trafficking and arranging a murder. Belgian courts have also convicted him several times in his absence, with those sentences adding up to almost 80 years in total.
Several major figures in the Belgian case were handed substantial prison sentences by the court. Former gendarme Willy Van Mechelen received a nine-year sentence, his associate Tom Bastiaanse was sentenced to 12 years, and former motorcycle gang member Geert Frisson was ordered to serve 13 years in prison.
