The ship on which the record seizure of 30,000 kilos of cocaine was made is part of a fleet of ships that can be linked to Jos Leijdekkers, alias Bolle Jos, and top Turkish criminals. This is stated in a report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC), which investigated the movements of cargo ships off the coast of West Africa.
A record catch, in the middle of the sea. When Spanish police boarded the cargo ship Arconian off the West African coast on May 1 this year, officers discovered 30,000 kilos of cocaine. The 1279 packages of cocaine were guarded by five heavily armed Dutchmen. Although the scale of the drug seizure was unprecedented, GI-TOC’s research shows that the transport is anything but an isolated incident.
It has been suspected for some time that this drug transport is related to the Breda ‘Bolle Jos’. Jos Leijdekkers has been safe in Sierra Leone for some time, which refuses to extradite him to the Netherlands. Now the GI-TOC confirms that suspicion
Arconian is part of a fleet of drug ships
The police believe that the cocaine on the Arconian did not have to enter Europe via a port. The plan is said to have been to throw packages of coke overboard at sea. Smaller boats could then pick up the drugs and bring them ashore. That’s called the dropoff-method.
New research shows that the Arconian is likely part of a fleet linked to multiple drug smuggling operations in the Mediterranean. The ships are associated with the network of Jos L., better known as Bolle Jos.
More coke via West Africa
Since 2019, more and more cocaine has been smuggled from West Africa to Europe. Yet relatively few container ships from that region are intercepted in European ports. Researchers therefore wondered how all those drugs enter Europe.
Research organization GI-TOC mainly investigated three ships: the Arconian, the White Eagle and the White Labeille. Public sources were used and more than 190 people were interviewed.
Drugs loaded in Sierra Leone
According to the report, the cocaine was likely loaded aboard the Arconian in Sierra Leone. The ship then sailed towards the Canary Islands. Smaller motorboats had to take over the drugs there.
It is striking that the Arconian had more than 42,000 liters of fuel on board. According to researchers, it was probably intended for the speedboats. This allowed criminals to avoid seaports.
New smuggling method
According to the report, this method of smuggling is also used by other criminal networks. This allows large quantities of cocaine to reach Europe without being detected.
That may explain why the price of cocaine in Europe has been falling for years. In the Netherlands, the price went from 28,000 euros per kilo in 2021 to 15,000 euros per kilo in 2025, according to the report.
Armed men on board
On May 1, the Arconian was intercepted by Spanish police near Dakhla off the coast of Western Sahara. There were seventeen Filipino crew members and six armed men on board: five Dutch and one Surinamese.
Behind a metal door, police found a long hallway full of bales of cocaine. According to the report, the huge load indicates that previous transports may have been successful.
Images of the cargo ship loaded with cocaine that was intercepted in May: