FILE PHOTO: Convicted cocaine smuggler Jos Leijdekkers attends a church service in Tihun, Sierra Leone, January 1, 2025, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. First Lady Fatima Maada Bio via Facebook/via REUTERS/File Photo
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch Justice Minister David van Weel said on Thursday that he spoke over the phone with his Sierra Leone counterpart Alpha Sesay about the Dutch extradition request for European cocaine kingpin Jos Leijdekkers.
"He is wanted internationally for serious crimes. And there are strong indications that he is currently in Sierra Leone", Van Weel added in a post on X.
One of Europe's most wanted fugitives, Leijdekkers, has found refuge and high-level protection in Sierra Leone, Reuters reported earlier this year.
Sierra Leone has previously said it isinvestigatingthe reports and would cooperate if there was an extradition request, even though the Netherlands does not have an extradition treaty with Sierra Leone.
(Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout and Stephanie van den Berg, Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten and Toby Chopra)
