Dutch authorities raised to €2 million ($2.2 million) the reward for information leading to Jos Leijdekkers’ arrest, a 10-fold increase, CBS News reported in a story updated Nov. 2.
Authorities say tips will be kept confidential. CBS News quoted Dutch prosecutors as calling Leijdekkers’ arrest “the highest priority” for the Public Prosecution Service and police.
CBS News reported that Dutch police had traced the 35-year-old to Sierra Leone, where he is believed to be hiding. The outlet described him as a major figure in international cocaine trafficking and one of Europe’s most-wanted drug suspects. Dutch authorities said in January 2025 that they were certain he was in Sierra Leone, CBS News reported.
A Rotterdam court imposed a 24-year prison term on Leijdekkers in absentia in 2024. The case involved cocaine shipments totaling nearly 7,000 kilograms, an armed robbery and an order for a “liquidation,” according to CBS News. Belgium also sentenced him to 79 years in prison.
