Today at 8:30 PM • Updated today at 8:57 PM
The family members of Breda drug criminal Jos Leijdekkers are arrested one by one and prosecuted. His brother Harry was extradited from Turkey to the Netherlands on Tuesday, his mother and sister are on trial for money laundering and his father Joseph recently appeared in court. How did the hunt for Bolle Jos turn into an investigation into his entire family? And who exactly are those family members?
Before Jos Leijdekkers, also known as Bolle Jos, became known worldwide, the family lived relatively out of the spotlight in Prinsenbeek. Bolle Jos (34) grew up in the town near Breda with his brother and sister. Little is known about the mother, but father Joseph Leijdekkers (71) was no stranger to Breda: it turns out that he was the owner of a brothel, De Reeperbahn, for a while.
When Bolle Jos became the most wanted criminal in the Netherlands, the attention of the police and the Public Prosecution Service initially focused mainly on him. That will change in early 2023 when the police raid and search houses and an office in Breda, Prinsenbeek and Rotterdam. During the action, the mother (71) and sister (31) of the drug criminal are arrested.
Visits to Turkey
At the same time, it is announced that the family traveled to Turkey in August and December 2022. There it may have had contact with the drug criminal who is on the National Investigation List. The reward for the tip that led to the arrest of Bolle Jos has now been increased from 75,000 to 200,000 euros.
After their arrest, mother and daughter are detained and prosecuted for money laundering. In March 2023, father Leijdekkers was arrested in Rotterdam, also on suspicion of money laundering. According to the Public Prosecution Service, the family members accepted money and expensive gifts, even though they knew that these had been paid for with criminal money.
Expensive watches
The family members’ process will not start until 2026. The criminal case against father Joseph focused on two watches, including a Patek Philippe worth approximately 110,000 euros. According to the Public Prosecution Service, both watches were paid for with drug money. The Public Prosecution Service demanded a prison sentence of seven months for this.
The court did not agree with this. She ruled that the origin of the watches has not been established nor that they originate from a crime. Joseph Leijdekkers was acquitted and allowed to keep the watches.
No lawyer
The trial of the mother and sister was postponed at the beginning of this month. The mother had broken with her lawyer a week before the start of the trial. She has remained silent and made no statement until now, but has changed her mind. Her lawyer did not agree with this.
Because the daughter’s case is closely intertwined with that of her mother, that trial was also postponed. The court has decided to continue next fall.
Older brother Harry
The most recent developments are in the search for Harry Leijdekkers, Bolle Jos’ older brother. He was arrested by Turkish authorities in Istanbul on Sunday, May 17, and extradited to the Netherlands on Tuesday. He was arrested upon arrival at Schiphol.
According to the Public Prosecution Service, intercepted messages via Sky ECC – the encrypted messaging service used by criminals – show that Harry was involved in receiving and transferring millions of euros in cash, purchasing large amounts of gold and trading in luxury watches. According to the Public Prosecution Service, these goods originate from crime. He will be prosecuted for this.
In addition, Harry Leijdekkers still has to serve a prison sentence. In 2019, he was sentenced to a year and a half in prison for prohibited possession of weapons, after he and two others were trapped by the police in Breda a year earlier in a stolen car with several firearms, brass knuckles and a balaclava. Shortly before his conviction, he had fled to Turkey.
Here you can read all the stories about Bolle Jos.
In this video you can see why Bolle Jos is the most wanted criminal in our country:
