Netherlands is the main source of synthetic drug Kush
in Sierra Leone
The Netherlands and the United Kingdom are the main suppliers of Kush, a deadly synthetic drug, in Sierra Leone, Nieuwsuur reports based on a report by Clingendael and the Global Initiative, organizations that conduct research into organized crime. Kush is causing havoc in the West African country to the point that President Julius Maada Bio declared a state of emergency in April last year.
Kush is relatively new on the market and is dirt cheap. It contains synthetic cannabis and in about half of the cases also nitazenes - an extremely deadly painkiller that is significantly stronger than heroin. In Sierra Leone, young people on Kush walk the streets like zombies and several morgues are struggling to keep up with all the bodies, according to Nieuwsuur.
According to Clingendael and Global Initiative, the largest shipment of Kush ever seized in Sierra Leone came from the Netherlands. It involved 300 kilograms of the drug intercepted in the spring of 2024. A cocaine smuggler convicted in the Netherlands is also allegedly one of the biggest players in the Kush market. Source research within the country’s criminal circuit also showed that the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are consistently mentioned as countries of origin.
Sierra Leone made headlines in the Netherlands in January when Jos Leijdekkers, a convicted drug criminal also known as Bolle Jos, turned up in a social media video attending the same New Year’s church service as the president. There are currently no indications that Leijdekkers, one of the most wanted criminals in the Netherlands, is involved in Kush.
See story immediately below for more on Jos.
But according to Clingendael researcher Kars de Bruijne, Leijdekkers is definitely not the only Dutch drug dealer in West Africa. Synthetic drugs from the Netherlands are popping up in multiple countries and Dutch criminals are involved in professional cannabis cultivation in the region. “Dutch criminals really see West Africa as the promised land,” De Bruijne told the program.
The Netherlands has too little insight into what is happening in West Africa, De Bruijne said. Currently, a total of four Dutch police liaisons in Nigeria, Ghana, and Morocco are trying to monitor the entire West African region. “There is a lack of extradition treaties and information exchange needs to be improved.” According to De Bruijne, the Netherlands is much more concerned about “what comes in as cocaine than what goes out as synthetic drugs.”
The Ministry of Justice and Security told Nieuwsuur that it has few to no signals that the Netherlands is a production or transit country for synthetic drugs to West Africa. “We cannot completely rule it out and we remain alert,” a spokesperson said.
Fugitive drug lord ‘Bolle Jos’ gets 13 years in Belgium
for failed €250M cocaine heist
A Belgian court sentenced fugitive drug trafficker Jos Leijdekkers, known as ‘Bolle Jos,’ to 13 years in prison on Tuesday for orchestrating a failed heist of 10 tons of cocaine that had been seized by Antwerp customs.
The 33-year-old Leijdekkers, originally from Brabant, was convicted in absentia. Prosecutors had sought a 15-year sentence. According to the court, he directed an armed team that attempted to retrieve the cocaine, which had been discovered hidden in a shipment of soybean meal on Oct. 16, 2023.
Authorities had moved the container to a secured warehouse to extract the cocaine, valued at 250 million euros. Criminals tracked the shipment using electronic trackers. When two armed men approached the warehouse, police were called. Shortly after, seven armed Dutch nationals were intercepted in a van and arrested. They were each sentenced to 10 years in prison. In total, 19 suspects were on trial for the case.
Leijdekkers was identified as the mastermind after Dutch police received a tip linking the shipment to him. Wiretapped prison conversations further implicated him. One of the arrested men was overheard saying he was in custody “because of Bolle Jos.”
Rotterdam sentence
Leijdekkers is already a convicted criminal in Belgium and remains one of Europe’s most wanted fugitives. In June 2024, he was sentenced in absentia by a Rotterdam court to 24 years in prison for large-scale cocaine trafficking and ordering an assassination. That case involved the import of 7,000 kilos of cocaine into the Netherlands.
The court found him guilty of commissioning the murder of Robin van Ouwekerk, a key suspect in the so-called ‘torture container’ case in Wouwse Plantage. The murder was never carried out, possibly because the hired killer was arrested in an unrelated case. Leijdekkers had offered a 200,000 euros bounty for the hit. The court described his willingness to order violence as “chilling” and “almost frivolous.”
Regarding the `torture container`, Dutch police uncovered a secret torture chamber in a warehouse in Noord-Brabant in 2020, revealing a chilling criminal operation. The facility consisted of soundproofed shipping containers modified for imprisonment and torture. Inside, authorities found dentist chairs with restraints, waterboarding equipment, and a mobile operating table.
Overall, Dutch prosecutors linked Leijdekkers to at least six major drug shipments from South and Central America to the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp between 2019 and 2020. Another cocaine shipment intended for him was mistakenly sent to Finland. His associates attempted to violently reclaim the shipment from a legitimate company that had unknowingly received the container, injuring an employee in the process.
Leijdekkers has been on the run for years and is on both the Dutch National Most Wanted List and the EU Most Wanted List. Authorities have offered a 200,000 euros reward for information leading to his capture.
Police investigate deaths of 3 young American women at Belize resort
Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Police are investigating the cause of death for three American women found in their hotel room at a resort in Belize.
The women, 23-year-old Kaoutar Naqqad, 24-year-old Imane Mallah and 26-year-old Wafae El-Arar were found dead at the Royal Kahal Beach Resort in San Pedro on Saturday. The three were all from Revere, Mass.
According to local media, the three women were of Moroccan descent but held US citizenship. - NYPost
The resort staff entered the room with a master key after attempts to contact the women failed. They had been attempting to contact them since Friday after seeing the three on surveillance footage enter the room and not come out.
"There was nothing of substance that could have been found other than alcohol and some gummies," Chester Williams, commissioner of the Belize Police Department, told Channel 5 Belize. "We're not saying at this time that the gummies cause death, but we're looking at every possibility."
The NYPost also mentions that the women were found with froth in their mouths, indicating drug overdose was possible.
Williams added that there was no sign of forced entry or visible injuries to the women. The pathologist who came to the scene said they could have been dead for up to 20 hours before being discovered.
The families of each of the women have started GoFundMe pages to help cover funeral expenses. The three had been scheduled to return home Sunday.
No comments:
Post a Comment