Deadly Netherlands Shooting Reportedly Linked To Fugitive Cocaine Kingpin In Africa (Worthy News In-Depth)

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief

OVERASSELT, NETHERLANDS (Worthy News) – A man was killed and two police officers wounded early Tuesday in an extraordinary shooting involving heavily armed men in the eastern Netherlands that investigators reportedly suspect was a revenge attack tied to the criminal underworld.

The violence in Overasselt, a village near the city of Nijmegen, was being investigated for possible links to the organization of fugitive Dutch cocaine trafficker Jos Leijdekkers, known as “Bolle Jos,” or “Chubby Jos,” one of Europe’s most wanted criminals who is believed to be living in Sierra Leone.

Tuesday’s shooting comes amid an international crackdown on cocaine trafficking between Latin America, West Africa and Europe, with authorities increasingly targeting powerful criminal networks responsible for moving massive shipments through ports and maritime routes.

Dutch police received initial reports of a suspicious situation at around 4 a.m. before gunfire erupted near a farmhouse on Ewijkseweg, a road in the village.

One man died at the scene, while the shooting wounded two police officers responding to the emergency. Both were taken to hospital and later confirmed to be out of life-threatening danger.

REVENGE ATTACK SUSPECTED

Police detained numerous suspects in and around Overasselt and at other locations, including during operations on the A73 and A76 motorways. Authorities declined to provide an exact number of arrests.

Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf (The Telegraph), citing police sources, reported that investigators believe the shooting was a revenge attack targeting a resident of the farmhouse who had previously been associated with Leijdekkers’ criminal organization.

The newspaper reported that security-camera footage showed vans arriving before masked men emerged and moved toward the farmhouse, some apparently carrying heavy weapons believed to include automatic rifles.

A security guard was reportedly shot almost immediately. As the attackers dispersed, a vehicle was seen speeding away from the scene, while others fled on foot. Some were subsequently found hiding in cornfields and bushes as helicopters, dogs and heavily armed tactical units searched the area, police said.

De Telegraaf cited police sources describing the level of violence as unprecedented by Dutch standards and likening the scenes to “Mexican-style conditions” and a “drug war.” The comparison evoked Mexico’s decades-long battle with powerful drug cartels, which has contributed to widespread bloodshed and hundreds of thousands of deaths since the government launched its military-led campaign against the cartels in 2006.

POLICE FIRE WARNING SHOTS

Authorities had not publicly confirmed the suspected motive or a connection with Leijdekkers’ organization.

Officials said tactical officers fired warning shots during arrests Tuesday morning, while investigators cordoned off part of Ewijkseweg and surrounding areas, including a cornfield, as forensic teams searched for evidence.

The farmhouse at the center of the inquiry had already been targeted by gunfire last year, a development authorities confirmed was being taken into account.

Arrests made later Tuesday morning on the A73 motorway, just across the provincial border, and on the A76 were also connected to the Overasselt violence.

Authorities did not immediately disclose the identities of the detained suspects or their possible links to criminal organizations.

TARGET ESCAPES ATTACK

De Telegraaf reported that the apparent target of the assault was a man known to authorities who had previously been associated with large-scale cocaine trafficking and allegedly maintained contacts with Leijdekkers’ organization.

The man reportedly escaped from the farmhouse in his underwear carrying a young child and hid nearby before contacting a relative who helped bring him to safety.

Investigators suspect competing criminal groups may have stolen large cocaine shipments from one another, according to the newspaper, although the precise circumstances behind the apparent conflict remain unclear.

Surveillance footage published by De Telegraaf appeared to show dozens of masked people moving through the area around the time of the attack, some carrying what appeared to be heavy firearms.

Additional footage appeared to show members of the group approaching a stationary car before one person opened fire. Several muzzle flashes could be seen before most of the group ran from the area, according to NOS, though police had not publicly confirmed that interpretation of the images.

“BOLLE JOS” IN AFRICA

Leijdekkers, 35, has been described by Dutch authorities as a key player in international cocaine trafficking and has appeared on European policing agency Europol’s list of most-wanted fugitives.

A Dutch court convicted him in absentia in 2024 and sentenced him to 24 years in prison for crimes including smuggling more than seven tonnes of cocaine and ordering a killing. He has received additional lengthy prison sentences in Belgium for drug-related crimes.

Leijdekkers has been a fugitive since 2022 and is believed to be living in the West African nation of Sierra Leone, where his presence has complicated Dutch efforts to bring him to justice.

Multiple sources have identified Leijdekkers as the partner of Agnes Bio, a daughter of Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio, after footage emerged showing the Dutch fugitive near the president and his family during a New Year’s Day church service in 2025.

More recent reports say Agnes Bio gave birth in September 2025 to a child fathered by Leijdekkers. The presidential family has previously denied links to the Dutch fugitive.

INTERNATIONAL HUNT CONTINUES

Dutch authorities have made capturing Leijdekkers a high priority and have offered a reward of 200,000 euros (about $234,000) for information leading to his arrest.

The Netherlands has sought his extradition from Sierra Leone, but efforts to secure his return have so far been unsuccessful.

West Africa has become an important transit region for cocaine shipped from Latin America to Europe, and Dutch authorities have described Leijdekkers as a major figure in international trafficking.

Dutch police and military special forces reportedly prepared two operations earlier this year aimed at capturing him in West Africa, but both were called off shortly before they were to take place.

The Dutch government has also pressed the European Union to consider withholding hundreds of millions of euros in development assistance to Sierra Leone unless authorities there cooperate in extraditing Leijdekkers.

MAYOR CONDEMNS VIOLENCE

Back in Overasselt, Mayor Joerie Minses of Heumen municipality described himself as “deeply shocked” by the overnight violence and expressed concern for the victim, injured officers and residents.

“What happened last night in Overasselt is completely unacceptable and goes beyond all limits,” the mayor said.

Residents also reacted with shock. “You know what is most terrible? Today they are captured, and tomorrow they are released again,” one man told reporters, reflecting concerns among some Dutch citizens about what they view as an overly lenient criminal justice system.

Minses, who remained in close contact with police and prosecutors, pledged to consider measures necessary to restore and maintain public order, stressing that residents should not face unacceptable dangers in their own neighborhood.

Forensic examinations continued at several locations, with authorities appealing to witnesses and others with information about the shooting to come forward.

The extraordinary scale of the attack and its reported possible connection to an internationally wanted cocaine trafficker have raised fresh concerns about the reach of organized crime in the Netherlands and the increasingly global nature of the multibillion-dollar cocaine trade.

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