Dutch prosecutors just put a €2 million price tag on the head of a man they say ordered a killing and moved nearly 7,000 kilograms of cocaine through Europe.
Story Snapshot
- The Netherlands Public Prosecution Service raised the bounty for Jos Leijdekkers from €200,000 to €2 million, a tenfold jump approved by the Ministry of Justice.
- Leijdekkers, nicknamed “Bolle Jos” or “Chubby Jos,” was sentenced in absentia to 24 years for drug trafficking, armed robbery, and ordering a murder.
- Authorities say they have known since mid-2024 that he is living in Sierra Leone, but still cannot arrest him.
- The reward only pays out for a tip that directly leads to his capture, not just general information about him.
A Tenfold Jump In The Price On His Head
The Dutch Public Prosecution Service announced on November 2, 2026, that it had boosted the reward for Leijdekkers’ arrest from €200,000 to a full €2 million. The Ministry of Justice signed off on the increase, calling it necessary after the original amount failed to produce his location. Officials say the money goes to whoever delivers the “crucial tip” that finally puts him in handcuffs.
That crucial tip could be almost anything useful. Prosecutors say they want information about his planned travel, his daily movements, or any real chance for police to grab him. It is not a reward for rumors or sightings on social media. It is a reward for actionable intelligence that ends with him in custody, which raises the bar for anyone hoping to collect.
Why Dutch Prosecutors Call Him A Priority Target
A Rotterdam court convicted Leijdekkers on June 25, 2024, and handed down a 24-year prison sentence. Judges found him responsible for six cocaine shipments totaling nearly 7,000 kilograms, an armed robbery in Finland, and ordering someone’s killing. He never showed up for his own trial. No lawyer appeared to represent him, so the case proceeded without him in the room.
That in absentia process is worth noting plainly: it is strong proof of what the court found, but it is not the same as a trial where the defendant stood and answered the charges directly. Prosecutors say the original €200,000 reward, combined with placing him on the National Investigation List, still did not produce his whereabouts. That failure appears to be the direct reason officials pushed for the much larger payout.
A Fugitive Hiding In West Africa
Dutch authorities say they have known since mid-2024 that Leijdekkers has been living in Sierra Leone. The BBC describes him as one of Europe’s most-wanted men, a label that fits someone convicted of running cocaine shipments at an industrial scale. Knowing a general location, though, is very different from making an arrest happen on foreign soil.
Sierra Leone sits outside direct Dutch police jurisdiction, so any arrest depends on cooperation from local authorities, diplomatic channels, and whatever legal process connects the two countries. That reality explains why a record-breaking reward, not a quiet police raid, became the public tool of choice. Money can travel across borders faster than warrants sometimes do.
The Bigger Picture Behind One Wanted Man
Leijdekkers is one name, but he represents a much larger problem. Europol has repeatedly described Europe’s cocaine trade as dynamic and adaptive, with trafficking networks constantly shifting routes, concealment methods, and shipping tactics to dodge scanners and inspections. Catching a senior figure in that trade usually requires intelligence sharing across multiple countries, financial tracing, and cooperation from local law enforcement thousands of miles from Rotterdam.
That is exactly why a €2 million reward makes sense as strategy, even without a guaranteed payoff yet. Big money gets attention in places where official channels move slowly. For conservatives who value strong borders and real consequences for violent drug networks, this kind of aggressive, well-funded manhunt is the right instinct. Criminal networks that profit across borders should face justice that follows them across borders too.
The Dutch Public Prosecution Service has increased its reward for information leading to the arrest of fugitive cocaine kingpin Jos Leijdekkers from €200,000 to €2 million.
The thirty-five(35)-year-old, one of Europe’s most wanted fugitives, is believed to be residing in pic.twitter.com/n05tfjdtyT
— Ekome pe (@citizenekome) November 3, 2026
Dutch police still list the old €200,000 figure on some public wanted pages, even after the new €2 million offer became official. That kind of mismatch can confuse anyone trying to figure out exactly what is currently on the table. For now, the number that matters is the one straight from the Public Prosecution Service: two million euros, for one tip, that finally brings Bolle Jos home in cuffs.
Sources:
politie.nl, om.nl, prosecutionservice.nl, bbc.com
