A fortune of 1 billion: why Bolle Jos is the most wanted criminal in Belgium and the Netherlands
Exactly one year after the major manhunt in Turkey for 'Bolle Jos' Leijdekkers, the long-awaited trial against the Dutchman starts today. But the main character? He still manages to stay out of the hands of an entire police force. With a pile of fake passports, private jets, possible plastic surgery and a staggering fortune of 1 billion. Why is it so difficult to catch him?

The ruthless cocaine empire of 'Bolle Jos': 'Turnover of at least 70 million per month'

Blocks of cocaine with his own name on it, a staggering drug turnover and careless decisions about life and death. According to the Public Prosecution Service, it is part of the 'ruthless greed for money' of Jos Leijdekkers (32). According to the justice department, this would make the most wanted man in the country a turnover of at least 70 million per month. It should get him 24 years in prison. “Because this is just the tip of his cocaine mountain.”

Chiel Timmermans, Yelle Tieleman 10-06-24, 15:17 Last update: 20:04
The prosecutors called it 'extra-category international cocaine trafficking' on Monday during the trial against Leijdekkers. A story about a shipment of 259 kilos of cocaine that was intercepted in the port of Antwerp in February 2020 is telling. Or 'burnt', as Leijdekkers himself calls it. The drugs are hidden under 30 centimeters of coffee beans in a container from the Dominican Republic, with which he says he can earn '6 million'.

But when the drugs are discovered, he apparently shrugs his shoulders. Via his encrypted telephone he sends to his companions: 'Four more containers at sea, all containing more than a ton.' According to the prosecutors, it is typical of the scale of the drug trade of 'Bolle Jos': "259 kilos of cocaine have just been seized, but apparently thousands of kilos are still on the way."

In the Rotterdam court on Monday, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) outlined Jos Leijdekkers' 'ruthless greed for money'. The Brabander - himself still on the run and therefore absent - is portrayed as a drug trafficker with a staggering turnover. A drug trafficker for whom violence is never far away: "Doing business with Leijdekkers can have serious consequences," said the officers. “He decides about life and death quite carelessly.”

If it were up to the Public Prosecution Service, he would spend 24 years in prison: “He sees himself as a big player. With a big player comes a big punishment.”

Cocaine between frozen fruit pulp
In the lawsuit, he is being prosecuted for, among other things, six drug transports between October 2019 and May 2020, all of which were intercepted. In total, this concerns thousands of kilos with a street value of hundreds of millions. Two outliers were the 1,554 kilos of cocaine hidden in a load of frozen fruit pulp in Rotterdam and a batch of 4,159 kilos under a deck load of squid in Antwerp. "And this is just the tip of his cocaine mountain," the officers said. According to their own calculations, he would generate a monthly turnover of 70 to 170 million euros through drug trafficking.

According to the Public Prosecution Service, Leijdekkers works as a micromanager. From abroad he directs the 'soldiers' who have to remove the drugs from the containers in the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp. He passes on to them the information he receives from his corrupt contacts at the port companies and security. "But his influence also extends to the countries where cocaine is produced," the officers point to the special 'Holly' stamp that Leijdekkers have printed on blocks of coke in South America.

The investigation into Leijdekkers - called Woodlake - started in March 2021 after authorities managed to crack the criminal telephone service Sky ECC. According to the Public Prosecution Service, the Brabander was a major user of this, he had at least eight accounts. He then used nicknames such as El Presidente or El Ganador (read: the winner). The messages provided a cascade of evidence against Leijdekkers.

From the messages, the Public Prosecution Service reconstructs, among other things, a crazy action in Finland. After half of a shipment of cocaine went missing in the port in Rotterdam in December 2019, the ship sailed on to Helsinki. For a 'rescue operation', as Bolle Jos himself calls it, he sends a six-man team after it. Ultimately, a group of masked men violently rob two employees who are working in Finland with the container containing the drugs in question.

Leijdekker encourages the violent action via his encrypted telephone: 'Take the driver hostage, knock him out and tie him up' and 'You hold them at gunpoint.' The two victims have a gun put to their heads and are severely beaten. One of them suffers broken ribs and a perforated lung. “It was an explosion of violence against two completely innocent people,” the prosecutor said. “It shows how tough the world of cocaine trafficking is. This goes hand in hand with excessive violence.”

Liquidation plan for torture container suspects
This is also evident from the plan in February 2020 to liquidate an apparent rival. The intended target is the Utrecht drug criminal Robin van Ouwerkerk, who is later seen by the judiciary as one of the main suspects in the controversial case surrounding the 'torture containers' in Wouwse Plantage. The liquidation does not go ahead for unknown reasons, Van Ouwerkerk later dies of cancer.

"Frankly disgusting," the officers call the messages going back and forth surrounding the murder attempt. "Brother, we have to let someone sleep," Leijdekkers says to an accomplice, according to the Public Prosecution Service. "A really important one." He promises a reward of 200,000 euros and sends a photo from housing website Funda, showing the target's home in The Hague: 'We just found out this is the address of that dog.'

200,000 euros for a golden tip
The trial started on Monday without the main character himself. The suspects' bench remained empty, Bolle Jos was not even represented by a lawyer. The Brabander has been on the National Investigation List for over two years now and never before has such a high reward been promised for the golden tip: 200,000 euros. Nevertheless, he is still on the run.

It is known that Bolle Jos was in hiding in Turkey for some time. About a year ago, a large-scale manhunt for him started there, during which numerous people from his alleged organization were arrested. Several family members, including his brother-in-law and older brother, were put in handcuffs last year. It is not clear where he is still hiding in Turkey.

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