News report | 09-01-2026 | 16:38

A man (39) who previously worked in the Rotterdam port has been demanded by the Public Prosecution Service (OM) on Friday to receive 9 years imprisonment and a fine of 1.2 million euros. The man, who stayed in Morocco, is suspected of importing large quantities of cocaine and preparing a murder. The OM considers him an important player within the organization of Jos Leijdekkers. The suspect used corrupt contacts in the port for the import of cocaine. The OM and the defense have made so-called procedural agreements.

The National Detection and Intervention Unit (LO) of the police has the man in its sights in an investigation led by the National Public Prosecutors Office and the Rotterdam district prosecutors office. This happens after decrypted chats from the messaging service Sky ECC. In the investigation into the still fugitive and now convicted Jos Leijdekkers, the suspect appears to play a prominent role for the organization. The chat messages show that the suspect has been involved for years, from December 2019 to December 2024, in the large-scale import of cocaine into the Netherlands. In total, it concerns over 4000 kilos. The suspect stayed in Morocco for a long time. When he wants to visit the Netherlands on November 14, 2024, the police arrest him at Rotterdam airport.

Corrupt contacts

According to the public prosecutor of the National Public Prosecutors Office, the suspect arranged everything in the port. For example, he directed the cocaine pickers in the container terminal of the Rotterdam port. He arranged their equipment and provided information about how and when they could best enter the container terminal. He received that information from corrupt port contacts. He also made agreements about the rewards they received for that. 

When the man was arrested in November 2024, his phone was searched. There the police found evidence that he was still preparing the import of cocaine into the Netherlands at that time. In addition to logistics in the ports and directing the pickers and corrupt port contacts, he was also involved in the process of chemically processing cocaine in loads of coal.
 

Weapon arranged

In the seized iPhone of the suspect, the police also found messages in which he talks about killing a man who worked in logistics in the port and who presumably did not cooperate with arranging matters as the suspect would like. The messages show that the suspect had already arranged a weapon for that. The police also found evidence that people actually went to the intended victim to threaten him, which is also evident from witness statements.

Procedural agreements 

The OM and the defense have made procedural agreements in this case. The OM believes that making procedural agreements contributes to an efficient and effective settlement of criminal cases. It has been agreed that the public prosecutor will lower the sentence demand and that the defense will not oppose the evidence or appeal. The court ultimately has the final say and decides whether the demanded prison sentence of 9 years and the fine of 1.2 million will actually be imposed.


The court will give its verdict on January 23.