AMSTERDAM, Oct 1 (Reuters) – The European Commission has suspended its financial aid to Sierra Leone over the country’s refusal to arrest and hand over European cocaine kingpin Jos Leijdekkers, Dutch Justice Minister David van Weel said on Thursday.
The decision to suspend €18 million ($20 million) in payments promised for this year is intended to pressure Sierra Leone to take action against Leijdekkers, who has found refuge and high level protection in the West African nation since around 2023 .
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Dutch national Leijdekkers is a convicted cocaine smuggler and one of Europe’s most-wanted fugitives
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The Netherlands has demanded his extradition, but so far Sierra Leone has refused to cooperate
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Another €22.5 million promised for next year might also be suspended if the country continues its refusal to cooperate, Van Weel said
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The European Commission did not immediately reply to requests for comment
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Sierra Leone’s delayed 2026 EU budget support was due to procedural issues over an amended financing agreement, not talks with the Netherlands or any individual case, and disbursements are now proposed for 2027 and 2028, information minister Chernor Bah said in a statement
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“Reports presenting the EU’s July decision as a new punitive measure related to a particular individual or case therefore do not reflect the reasons formally communicated to the Government,” Bah said
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Leijdekkers was sentenced in absentia to 24 years in prison in the Netherlands for smuggling more than 7 metric tons of cocaine
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In Belgium he has been sentenced to a total of around 100 years in prison in various cases
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