The European Commission has suspended financial aid to Sierra Leone, totaling €18 million for this year, following the country’s refusal to arrest and extradite Jos Leijdekkers, a notorious Dutch drug lord known as the “European cocaine lord.” The announcement was made by Dutch Justice Minister David van Weel on Thursday, with reports from Reuters, NL Times, and Telegraaf confirming the news.
This decision aims to pressure Sierra Leone into taking action against Leijdekkers, who has reportedly been living in high-profile protection within the West African nation since at least 2023.
Leijdekkers, an infamous drug trafficker, has long resided in Sierra Leone and is speculated to have strong connections with the country’s presidential family. Van Weel expressed satisfaction with the EU’s measure, emphasizing the outrage that EU funds are allocated to a country that refuses to cooperate in extraditing a criminal like Leijdekkers.
Earlier this year, the Dutch minister noted that Leijdekkers is estimated to earn hundreds of millions of euros monthly, a sum that exceeds the country’s gross national product, stating that such wealth inevitably corrupts the nation.
Leijdekkers is one of Europe’s most wanted fugitives, with the Netherlands requesting his extradition, but Sierra Leone has yet to comply. Furthermore, an additional €22.5 million planned for next year could also be suspended if Sierra Leone continues its lack of cooperation.
He has been sentenced in absentia to 24 years in prison in the Netherlands for trafficking over 7 tons of cocaine and has received a combined sentence of approximately 100 years for various cases in Belgium.
