Manhunt underway after one of Europe’s most-wanted fugitives spotted at religious service in Sierra Leone, police say

Police in Sierra Leone have said they are hunting a Dutch drug trafficker who is one of Europe’s most-wanted fugitives and believed to be hiding out in the west African country.

Jos Leijdekkers was sentenced in absentia by a Rotterdam court in June last year to 24 years in prison for organizing the transport of seven tons of cocaine and ordering a murder.

Suspicion that he was in Sierra Leone arose after the country’s First Lady Fatima Bio posted pictures and a video on social media that showed a man strongly resembling Leijdekkers at a religious service attended by President Julius Maada Bio.

National police inspector general William Fayia Sellu said investigators had identified the man in the photos as Leijdekkers, alias “Omar Sheriff.”

“A police man-hunt has been launched to arrest him, visiting several locations, but he has not been found yet,” he told a news conference.

The 33-year-old — who authorities say is also known as ‘Bolle Jos’ (“Chubby Jos”) — is on the European Union law enforcement agency Europol’s most-wanted list.

“Leijdekkers is considered to be one of the key players in international cocaine trafficking,” according to Europol.

Leijdekkers is also believed to be involved in the disappearance and death of Naima Jillal, a woman who went missing in 2019 after she got into a car in Amsterdam, according to Europol. Intercepted messages allegedly showed that Leijdekkers “played an important role in Jillal’s disappearance,” the agency said.

“For a long time, there was no trace of Naima Jillal, until photos of a woman believed to be her were found on a phone seized in the Marengo investigation,” Europol said. “The photos show that she was most likely tortured and is probably no longer alive.”

Last month, the BBC reported that Dutch prosecutor Wim de Bruin said the fugitive’s return to the Netherlands was of “the highest priority.”

Europol has offered a 200,000-euro ($208,000) reward for information leading to his arrest.

As the BBC notes, West Africa is a major transit point for the trafficking of cocaine from Latin America. Last month, Sierra Leone recalled its ambassador from neighbouring Guinea after seven suitcases containing suspected cocaine were found in an embassy vehicle.