In a dramatic development last month that sent ripples through international law enforcement circles, Leijdekkers was seen attending a New Year’s Day church service with Sierra Leone’s presidential family, in footage posted on Facebook by the country’s first lady.
Reuters, which verified the footage using facial recognition technology, quoted sources who said he had been benefitting from high-level protection in Sierra Leone, one of a number of west African transit points for cocaine trafficking from South America to Europe.
Sources said Leijdekkers has been in a relationship with Agnes Bio, a daughter of Sierra Leone’s president, Julius Maada Bio.
Responding to the footage, Dutch prosecutors said Leijdekkers had been living in Sierra Leone for at least six months.
After the first reports emerged of Leijdekkers’ presence in Sierra Leone, authorities in Freetown said the president had “no knowledge about the identity and the issues detailed in the reports about the individual in question”.
