Drug wars in the Netherlands: shock after a raid by "Fat Jos's soldiers" on a sleepy village
After becoming an international destination for cocaine smugglers, the country is stunned by an unprecedented event: a "commando" of dozens of masked men from Algeria, Belgium, and France raided a house in the village of Overasselt south of Amsterdam and opened fire. A security guard was killed, police officers were wounded, and 35 of the fleeing criminals were caught on roads, at a train station, and in a cornfield. Suspicion: the shooting is linked to drug baron Jos Leijdekkers, who was sentenced to 100 years in prison, fled to Sierra Leone, received political asylum under the name "Omar Sharif," and fathered a child with the president's daughter.
Dutch police have arrested 35 suspects—citizens of several countries, including Algeria—following an unusual shooting incident that occurred yesterday, in which a large group of masked men raided a house in the village of Overasselt and opened fire. A 51-year-old security guard was killed, and two police officers were wounded in the crossfire. The government has labeled the incident "unprecedented" due to the international cooperation among the suspects.
The shooting took place around 4:00 AM, approximately 135 kilometers southeast of Amsterdam. Security footage captured an "international commando" of dozens of masked men from the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Algeria, carrying weapons. Reports link the raid to drug baron Jos Leijdekkers, known as "Fat Jos." The targeted house belongs to an individual previously involved in cocaine smuggling, who had reportedly received threats demanding the return of a massive drug shipment.
During the attack, the property owner's son fled through the back door with his children. The arrival of police forced the attackers to scatter into nearby fields. Authorities later apprehended the suspects on highways, at the Nijmegen train station, and in a cornfield, where eight fugitives were captured. Police also seized a large cache of weapons.
Leijdekkers, a 35-year-old Dutch national, has been sentenced to over 100 years in prison and fined 95 million euros in the Netherlands and Belgium. For the past three years, he has been living in Sierra Leone, where he reportedly maintains a relationship with the daughter of President Julius Maada Bio and lives under the alias "Omar Sharif." He is believed to have organized the shipment of 30 tons of cocaine intercepted by Spain last year, the largest single drug seizure in history.
Search operations involving drones continued in Overasselt today. Local residents expressed their shock, noting that they had seen a human-like doll sitting in a car outside the house for months, unaware that a real security guard was stationed there—a man who ultimately lost his life in the attack.
