Wanted in Europe, cocaine baron finds refuge in West Africa

DAKAR: Seated in a pew in Sierra Leone, one of Europe’s most wanted cocaine traffickers is seen in a video at a New Year’s Day mass last year in the presence of President Julius Maada Bio. Afterwards, the country’s first lady had posted the video on Facebook, where people eventually recognized the figure as “Bolle Jos,” the fugitive Dutch drug lord. The convicted prolific smuggler, whose real name is Joseph Johannes Leijdekkers, is considered by Europol a most-wanted criminal and “key player” in global cocaine trafficking. Dutch police have offered a two-million-euro ($2.2-million) reward for information on him. AFP gathered information from law enforcement, local testimonies and court documents which show the 35-year-old trafficker operating in Sierra Leone with apparent support from the highest echelons of power.