Prosecutors from the Netherlands are offering a huge £1.6million (€2miillion) reward for information leading to the arrest of convicted cocaine kingpin Jos Leijdekkers.
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Prosecutors → offer → Leijdekkers
Authorities said on Monday they were offering the reward in a bid to catch one of Europe’s most wanted fugitives, who has been on the run for years.
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who → say → years
Leijdekkers is a Dutch national, but has been living in Sierra Leone for the past few years, according to the Dutch prosecution service.
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Leijdekkers → live → service
While his extradition from the African nation has been demanded by the Netherlands, Sierra Leone has refused to cooperate in handing him over, prompting the European Union to cut some aid sent to the country.
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Leone → demand → country
The reward, the highest bounty ever offered by the Dutch authorities, is available to any person who provides the crucial tip leading to Leijdekkers' arrest, prosecutors said in a statement.
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prosecutors → offer → statement
They added that Leijdekkers, who is known in the Netherlands as Bolle Jos or Chubby Jos, is a key player in international cocaine trafficking.
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who → add → trafficking
According to police, Leijdekkers also goes by the name of Omar Sherrif in Sierra Leone.
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Leijdekkers → accord → Leone
The 35-year-old was sentenced in absentia to 24 years in prison by a Dutch court last year for smuggling more than 7 metric tons of cocaine and is also the subject of several ongoing police investigations in the Netherlands.
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old → sentence → Netherlands
In neighbouring Belgium a court sentenced him to 79 years in prison.
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court → neighbour → prison
Dutch authorities estimate Leijdekkers has made tens of millions of euros from cocaine smuggling.
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Leijdekkers → estimate → smuggling
He is also suspected of money laundering and involvement in the use of extreme violence, they said.
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they → suspect → violence
The reward has been increased from £167,000 (€200,000), as the Dutch authorities hope such a large sum will spur countries in Africa to share more information about Leijdekkers’ whereabouts.
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sum → increase → whereabouts
The previous sum was already the highest tip ever offered in Dutch history.
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sum → offer → history
While countries including Mexico and the United States more commonly offer large bounties, the Netherlands has traditionally been far more restrained.
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Netherlands → include → bounties
Leijdekkers has reportedly been given a diplomatic passport to Sierra Leone in exchange for years of investment in the local economy.
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Leijdekkers → give → economy
RTL correspondent Van Leeuwen said: “He began a relationship with Agnes Bio, the president’s daughter, with whom he now has a child.
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he → say → child
“According to eyewitnesses, the Dutchman threw money around Sierra Leone and invested in mines and real estate, among other things.”
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Dutchman → accord → things
The Guardian reports at least 14 people have been killed inside Sierra Leone on Leijdekkers’ orders.
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people → report → orders
High ranking police are even believed to have been murdered on his command, while some officers have fled the country in fear they will be next.
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they → rank → fear
One intelligence source speaking on the condition of anonymity told the publication: “If you get in his way, he wipes you out.”
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he → speak → you
The first recorded sighting of Leijdekkers in west Africa was in October 2022, as he arrived in Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital, in a six-vehicle convoy, which according to one Sierra Leonian police officer was “bigger than our president’s”.
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which → record → president
The Aporia
