Fugitive Dutch drug trafficker Bolle Jos was sentenced to 14 years in Belgium’s Costa cocaine trafficking trial.
Fugitive Dutch drug trafficker Jos Leijdekkers, widely known as “Bolle Jos,” has been sentenced in absentia to 14 years in prison by a court in Tongeren, Belgium, for his role in one of the country’s largest cocaine trafficking investigations.
The ruling was handed down on July 30, 2026, as part of the long-running Costa trial, which centers on the large-scale importation of cocaine through the Port of Antwerp. Prosecutors allege the criminal network was responsible for importing at least 25 tonnes of cocaine, with an estimated street value of €3.5 billion, from Latin America into Europe. Although prosecutors sought a 15-year prison sentence for Leijdekkers, the court imposed a 14-year term the longest sentence handed down in the case.
Leijdekkers, one of Europe’s most wanted fugitives, remains at large. Belgian and Dutch authorities believe he is hiding in Sierra Leone, while the Netherlands continues efforts to secure his extradition. Dutch authorities are also offering a €200,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
The Costa trial involved more than 50 defendants, with prosecutors seeking a combined 451 years in prison for those accused of participating in the trafficking operation. Among those sentenced was Nathan Steveniers, who prosecutors identified as a key figure within Leijdekkers’ criminal organisation. Steveniers was sentenced to eight years in prison.
The investigation focused on a criminal network accused of coordinating large-scale cocaine shipments through the Port of Antwerp, one of Europe’s busiest gateways for international cargo. Belgian prosecutors described the operation as one of the country’s most significant organised crime cases, reflecting the scale of cocaine trafficking passing through the port.
The latest conviction adds to several previous Belgian convictions handed down against Leijdekkers in his absence, bringing the prison sentences imposed on him by Belgian courts to almost 80 years. He was also sentenced to 24 years in prison by a Dutch court in June 2024 for ordering a murder and orchestrating international cocaine trafficking.
Despite the growing number of convictions, Leijdekkers has yet to be apprehended. Authorities in both Belgium and the Netherlands continue to pursue his arrest and extradition as investigations into his criminal network remain ongoing.
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