By Kadijatu Bangura reporter D.S
Sierra Leone’s €352 million European Union development package faces suspension after the Netherlands formally asked Brussels to freeze the funding over Freetown’s failure to extradite convicted Dutch drug trafficker Jos Leijdekkers, alias “Bolle Jos”.
Dutch Justice Minister David van Weel announced the diplomatic push on Sunday during television programme Buitenhof, saying six months of talks with Sierra Leone had produced no results. “It is, of course, bizarre that we facilitate or support a country that simultaneously offers a safe haven to one of the biggest drug criminals known worldwide,” Van Weel said.
The EU allocation for 2021–2027 funds roads, agriculture, health facilities, schools and governance reforms nationwide. Because the Netherlands provides little direct bilateral aid to Sierra Leone, The Hague requires EU consensus to halt the money.
The dispute escalated after Spanish authorities intercepted a vessel off the Canary Islands in early May 2026 carrying an estimated 30,000 to 45,000 kilograms of cocaine. The ship had sailed from Freetown and several Dutch nationals were arrested. Van Weel said the scale of the shipment made it unlikely the operation lacked cooperation at multiple levels within Sierra Leone.
Leijdekkers, 33, from Breda, was sentenced in absentia to roughly 80 years by Dutch and Belgian courts for large-scale drug trafficking and money laundering. In 2024 a Dutch court ordered him to repay €96 million in criminal proceeds, the largest confiscation order in Dutch history. Dutch officials estimate his monthly income runs into hundreds of millions of euros, warning such wealth could rival Sierra Leone’s state revenue and undermine institutions.
Extradition efforts are further complicated by repeated reports that Leijdekkers is in a relationship with a daughter of President Julius Maada Bio. The alleged family tie has raised doubts about Freetown’s willingness to act.
APC opposition leader Abdulai Kargbo has urged the president to respond. In an open letter, Kargbo said repeated international reports linking Sierra Leone to narcotics trafficking were fueling suspicion that criminal networks may be operating with political cover. He cited the May cocaine bust, noting a heavily armed vessel linked to organized crime left Sierra Leonean waters undetected, exposing gaps in port and border security.
Government officials maintain the case is being handled with utmost seriousness and that investigations into the cocaine shipment continue. The head of the National Drug Control Unit has focused public statements on the domestic synthetic drug crisis rather than on Leijdekkers or the aid dispute.
World Bank figures place Sierra Leone’s gross national income at about €6.4 billion per year, lending weight to Dutch concerns that illicit drug money could destabilize the economy if left unchecked.
The European Commission has not said whether it will act on the Dutch request.
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