In the manhunt for Bolle Jos the police resorted to the most drastic means of investigation: hacking a telephone. Not his own, but his sister’s. She was systematically followed, observed and tapped for a long time. A microphone behind the dishwasher also caused a short circuit.
“My client was tapped while walking the dog, during a walk in Zoutelande and during a birthday. She was systematically followed, observed and tapped at every moment of her life for a very long period of time,” lawyer Laura Versluis said about Jos Leijdekkers’ sister.
On Wednesday she appeared with her father and mother in the Rotterdam court. The three are suspected of having benefited from the crime money of their son and brother ‘Bolle Jos’. But early on during the hearing it became apparent that the mother was without a lawyer.
Because her situation is closely related to that of her daughter, her case was also adjourned.
2 million euro apartment
Bolle Jos’ mother and sister had an apartment worth roughly 2 million euros on Palm Jumeirah, the palm-shaped peninsula for wealthy residents of Dubai. They drove around in two Bentleys and had a collection of designer bags and very expensive watches.
Lawyer Laura Versluis nevertheless seized the moment to show that the sister’s life has been at a standstill for three years. She has a clean criminal record and completed a master’s degree, but applying for a job or getting a mortgage is complicated like ‘the sister of’.
Versluis also explained how the police pulled out all the stops in the hunt for Bolle Jos. With all the consequences for the family. This is how the most drastic investigative tool was used: hacking a telephone. Not that of Bolle Jos himself, but that of his sister.
EXPLAINED | Bolle Jos is the most wanted criminal in the Netherlands
When the dishwasher broke down at her home at some point, a technician found listening equipment behind it. “It was connected incorrectly in such a way that it caused a short circuit. There was a risk of explosion,” said Versluis. “And what have all those investigative resources yielded? Zero.”
Versluis wanted to indicate how drastic the manhunt for Bolle Jos was for the family. Who – partly due to finding the listening equipment – was very aware that she was also being closely monitored. “I really want to get this over with,” the sister also said.
Turkey and Sierra Leone
Leijdekkers’ father, mother and sister were arrested in early 2023. At that time, the investigative services were fully investigating the whereabouts of the most wanted criminal in the Netherlands. It led to a manhunt in Turkey in the summer of 2023, where Bolle Jos was still in hiding at the time. He managed to escape and later emigrated to Sierra Leone.
In the West African country he is said to have bribed rulers and maintained a relationship with the president’s daughter. In the meantime, he has been sentenced to 24 years in the Netherlands for large-scale cocaine trafficking and violence. In Belgium, a series of convictions has resulted in a prison sentence of 57 years.
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