“Good news in the international fight against organized crime!” says Minister of Justice and Security David van Weel Tuesday evening on X. The good news: Harry Leijdekkers, the older brother of drug criminal ‘Bolle Jos’ Leijdekkers, was extradited from Turkey to the Netherlands on Tuesday. He traveled to Rotterdam The Hague Airport under the supervision of the Royal Military Police. He was immediately arrested there.
The Public Prosecution Service (OM) will investigate the 50-year-old Brabander prosecute for laundering millions of euros in cash, watches, and a “large amount of gold”. These valuables are said to be proceeds from the large-scale drug trade of his brother Jos. He is seen by the Dutch authorities as one of the protagonists in the international cocaine trade.
Two weeks ago brought it A.D that Harry Leijdekkers had been arrested in the Turkish capital Istanbul at the request of the Netherlands. In a photo that was distributed of that arrest, Leijdekkers can be seen kneeling, handcuffed and surrounded by three heavily armed and masked officers. It was already the third time that he was arrested: he was also detained in Turkey in 2023 and 2025. The first time, he and other accomplices of Bolle Jos were acquitted by judges who may have been bribed. It is unclear why the extradition to the Netherlands did not take place in 2025.
Next Friday, Harry Leijdekkers will be brought before the examining magistrate. Last month there was also a money laundering case in the Netherlands against Bolle Jos’ 71-year-old father. He was acquitted. His mother and sister are also suspected of laundering an apartment in Dubai, two Bentleys and a large amount of money. Their case will be heard later this year.
Stop development aid
Jos Leijdekkers, alias Bolle Jos, has been on the National Investigation List and the EU Most Wanted List since 2022. A reward of 200,000 euros is being offered for the tip that leads to his arrest. Leijdekkers was sentenced in absentia to 24 years in prison in 2024 for six drug transports totaling almost 7,000 kilos of cocaine, an armed robbery and ordering a liquidation. He also faces a prison sentence in Belgium. But according to the Dutch police, the criminal is “still missing”.
Early 2025 appears research of it A.D and Follow the Money that Bolle Jos Leijdekkers is in Sierra Leone. There he is said to have entered into a relationship with the president’s daughter, with whom he is also said to have had a child. From Sierra Leone, Leijdekkers is said to still be involved in (the organization of) violent and drug crimes.
The Netherlands has been trying to extradite Leijdekkers for about a year and a half. According to Minister Van Weel, Sierra Leone is not cooperating sufficiently with this. In an attempt to further increase the pressure, the government released this weekend want to stop development aid to the West African country. The Telegraph reported two weeks ago that special units of the Dutch police and navy were about to arrest Leijdekkers twice, but that these actions were canceled at the last minute. The Public Prosecution Service neither confirmed nor denied that reporting.
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