FREETOWN (Reuters) – Sierra Leone’s information ministry said on Sunday it was investigating media reports that European cocaine kingpin Jos Leijdekkers is in the country and benefitting from high-level protection there.
In a statement, the ministry said the country’s police were ready to collaborate with the Dutch government, Interpol and other international law enforcement agencies about the case.
Videos and photos verified by Reuters of a church mass in Sierra Leone on Jan. 1, 2025 show Leijdekkers, a Dutch national, sitting two rows behind Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio.
The statement from the Sierra Leone’s ministry said the president “attended numerous family events during the festive season” and “has no knowledge about the identity and the issues detailed in the reports about the individual in question.”
(Reporting by Umaru Fofana, writing by Silvia Aloisi, editing by David Lewis)
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