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Dutch drug criminal Jos Leijdekkers, known as Bolle Jos, has been convicted by a Belgian judge and sentenced to 14 years in prison.
The 35-year old was not present at the court in Antwerp when the verdict was announced on Thursday, having been on the run since 2024.
Leijdekkers was sentenced for his part in the Costa drugs case, in which a total of 56 people were accused of smuggling 25 tonnes of cocaine through Antwerp and money laundering. The drugs had a street value of €3.5 billion.
An investigation by Follow The Money revealed that the Brabant drugs baron has been living in Sierre Leone and is in a relationship with the president’s daughter.
Two years ago, a Dutch judge sentenced him to 24 years in 2024 for cocaine trafficking through the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam.
In total, he has been sentenced to 103 years in prison across 10 trials.
The Dutch have requested his extradition from Sierre Leone, but the government denies any knowledge of his presence in the country.
According to drugs experts, the West African country has become a major logistical hub for the smuggling of drugs from South America to Europe.
Earlier this year, Spanish authorities intercepted a ship that had departed from the country and discovered 30,215 kilograms of cocaine, the largest intercepted cocaine shipment ever.
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