Sierra Leone: The cocaine trail

Summary

Business Daily: Sierra Leone – The Cocaine Trail

Date: July 26, 2026
Host: Ed Butler, BBC World Service

---

Overview

In this episode, Ed Butler investigates the shadowy presence and influence of Jos Lideckes (aka Jos Lydekus, also known locally as “Omar Sharif from Turkey”), a Dutch drugs kingpin allegedly operating freely in Sierra Leone. The episode explores how the country became a critical logistics hub for Europe’s cocaine trade, how Lideckes has mixed with the nation’s elite, and what (if anything) local authorities are doing about it. The program features investigative journalists, law enforcement officers, and civil society voices examining both the personal story of Lideckes and the broader implications for Sierra Leone’s governance and international standing.

---

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Rise and Reach of Jos Lideckes

[01:04–03:03]

• Subject: A massive 30-ton cocaine bust off Spain leads investigations back to Sierra Leone, with authorities claiming Lideckes masterminded the operation.
• Quote (Lt. Col. Oscar Ramacha, [03:46]): “He controls all the cocaine who goes from Sierra Leone to other parts of the world. We have also more information that he's receiving cocaine from Suriname.”

The “Octopus” of West Africa

• Lideckes is viewed as the linchpin for cocaine trafficking from Sierra Leone to Europe and potentially Asia.
• Authorities believe he controls logistics hubs and has a global reach.

---

2. West Africa’s Growing Role in Global Cocaine Trade

[04:29–06:18]

• Insight (Lucia Bird): West Africa, especially Sierra Leone, is no longer just a transit zone but a vital logistics and distribution hub.
• Indicators: Increasing seizures, rising local consumption, and falling prices suggest rapidly growing volume.
• Quote (Lucia Bird, [04:50]): “…really point to a certain surge in the volume of cocaine that is being moved through West Africa towards Europe. …Trafficking cocaine through West Africa has allowed trafficking networks to sidestep some of the increased scrutiny that trade froze from Latin America were experiencing coming into Europe.”

Corruption and Potential “Narco-State” Risks

• Concerns about “state capture” and complicity at high levels, though Lucia Bird cautions against misuse of the term “narco-state.”
• Large sums of drug money fuel corruption and buy protection.

---

3. The Making of a Kingpin

[06:29–09:10]

• Background (Giel Timmermans): Lideckes grew up near key drug ports in the Netherlands and rapidly rose after a prison stint.
• Developed extensive corrupt contacts in European ports; became highly in-demand.
• Quote (Giel Timmermans, [06:59]): “Prison is like your university of crime…you get connected. He came in contact with some big traffickers…he had brilliant corrupt contacts in the harbours.”

Law Enforcement Escalation

• Sentenced in absentia to a combined ~89 years in prison by Dutch and Belgian courts.
• Became the focus of multiple European law enforcement agencies.

---

4. Disappearing Act: From Europe to Sierra Leone

[10:16–12:35]

• After crackdowns in the Netherlands and Turkey, Lideckes resurfaces in Freetown under the alias “Omar Sharif,” posing as a Turkish businessman.
• Involved in a violent nightclub incident, after which local police fail to act despite evidence and rumors.
• Quote (Sophie van Leeuwen, [11:34]): “He was a businessman. He was known as Omar Sharif from Turkey…a Turkish businessman with a lot of money, investing big money in Sierra Leone, and that's why he was very welcome.”

---

5. Local Ties and Possible High-Level Protection

[12:35–14:10]

• Lideckes is openly seen socializing and supposedly lavishly gifting locals, including the country’s elite.
• Allegedly has a close relationship with President Julius Maada Bio’s daughter, Agnes—rumors even suggest they have a child.
• Quote (Sophie van Leeuwen, [12:47]): “He goes to the spa, he likes massage. He visits the president's daughter, Agnes Biot, and he gives her presents, flowers or other presents to the driver.”
• Viral video evidence puts Lideckes sitting just behind the president and first lady at a public church service.

Denials from Officials

• First Lady Fatima Bio publicly denies any knowledge of Lideckes and refutes all rumors of family ties, calling them “lies.”
• Quote (Fatima Bio, [14:10]): “Whoever is in that room is none of my business… I don’t bring people into church, so I don’t know who was in that church.”

---

6. Atmosphere of Fear and Conspiracy Among Locals

[15:22–16:29]

• Locals, especially fishermen, are hesitant or fearful to openly discuss the trafficking and Lideckes’ presence.

• Some quietly imply suspicious activity at certain harbors, hinting at smuggling.

• Quote (Anonymous local, [16:07]): “Whatever they say it is, he won’t tell you the truth. Other things are taking place there which are not... legitimate.”

---

7. Civil Society Concerns and Ongoing Mystery

[16:35–18:59]

• Journalists and activists (e.g., Florence Lilema Katta) confirm persistent rumors and evidence, but stress the need for official transparency and investigation.
• Despite Interpol red notices and extradition requests, local authorities remain noncommittal or evasive.
• Quote (Florence Lilema Katta, [17:38]): “We do not know, as civil unions, whether it's Omar Sharif or it’s Josh Lidecker's…We as citizens are still looking forward to having a concrete and honest outcome of the investigations.”

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "He is also as Octopus—he has his fingers in other parts of the world."
  — Lt. Col. Oscar Ramacha ([04:17])
• "Prison is like your university of crime."
  — Giel Timmermans ([06:59])
• "Whoever is in that room is none of my business… I don’t bring people into church, so I don’t know who was in that church."
  — First Lady Fatima Bio ([14:10])
• "Whatever they say it is, he won’t tell you the truth. Other things are taking place there which are not... legitimate."
  — Anonymous local ([16:07])
• "We as citizens are still looking forward to having a concrete and honest outcome of the investigations."
  — Florence Lilema Katta ([17:38])

---

Important Timestamps

• [01:04] – Introduction of Jos Lideckes and connection to cocaine seizure
• [03:46] – Evidence linking Lideckes to Sierra Leone-based trafficking
• [04:50] – Lucia Bird on West Africa’s transformation into a trafficking hub
• [06:59] – Giel Timmermans recounts Lideckes’ criminal progression
• [11:34] – Sophie van Leeuwen on Lideckes’ Sierra Leonean alias and social ascent
• [14:10] – First Lady Fatima Bio's public denial of any connection
• [16:47] – Florence Lilema Katta on media and civil society concerns

---

Conclusion & Next Episode Teaser

The episode concludes with Ed Butler announcing follow-up coverage, including a promised interview with Sierra Leone’s justice minister. He highlights the broader implications: with international scrutiny focused on Sierra Leone, its response to allegations involving the president’s family will be pivotal for its democratic future.

---

For listeners seeking to understand the intersection of organized crime, politics, and vulnerability in West Africa, this episode offers a dramatic, street-level, and high-level portrait of how global illicit economies operate in plain sight.

Transcript

[Ed Butler]

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the uk.

[Whole Foods Market Advertiser]

This is summer at its peak. Whole Foods Market Summer Fruit Fest is your invitation to eat the season fresh, organic and bursting with flavor. Start your day with peaches and organic blueberries and yogurt. Build a grazing board with fresh fruit, prosciutto and artisanal cheese. Then fire up the grill with no antibiotics ever. Proteins and fresh produce. Savor the season. Shop Summer Fruit Fest at Whole Foods Market. We face the greatest challenges of our time. Challenges that test our limits. There is a place where we can find answers, where journeys break new ground and connections unlock opportunities. Where innovation can spark real change and our actions can push our world forward. Singapore, where business events can create lasting impact.

[Ed Butler]

Hello there. Welcome to Business Daily on the BBC World Service. I'm Ed Butler. And today in the first of two programmes, we're on the trail of a wanted drugs kingpin from the Netherlands. The extraordinary rise in mystery surrounding Jos

[Lucia Bird]

Lideckes Lydekkers is a significant trafficker in the global cocaine business. He has been convicted of several cocaine trafficking charges in both the Netherlands and Belgium.

[Ed Butler]

He's been filmed and repeatedly identified in the capital of a West African country, Sierra Leone. But what is the government doing about it?

[Sophie van Leeuwen]

He visits the President's daughter. They also like to go out together. So the authorities said, we don't know him, but local people tell us we know he's connected to the President.

[Ed Butler]

Tracking one of Europe's top drugs fugitives. That's all to come on business daily from the BBC. May 1st this year. And the head of the Spanish Coast Guard's anti drug operation, Lieutenant Colonel Oscar Ramacha, receives a tip off a cargo boat. The Arkonian is travelling across the Atlantic. It's about to transfer a large shipment of cocaine he's been told to smaller speedboats off the southern coast of Spain.

[Lieutenant Colonel Oscar Ramacha]

We knew six fast boats were to introduce this cocaine through the coast of Spain, Huelva and Cadiz.

[Ed Butler]

So the cocaine was heading for the Spanish market.

[Lieutenant Colonel Oscar Ramacha]

You think some part is for the Spanish market, but other part is spread through the European countries and also other countries from Asia or whatever.

[Ed Butler]

Customs officers board the ship. What they found was no, no ordinary haul some 30 tons of cocaine packaged in plain view along a corridor running from bow to stern. It was the biggest seaborne seizure of cocaine ever made. 22 crew members from Europe, Africa and Suriname were arrested. But the suspected mastermind behind the shipment, a Dutch drug dealer called Jos or Jos Lideckes, who is based in Sierra Leone, well, he remained at large how do you know this has come from Jos Lidekas?

[Lieutenant Colonel Oscar Ramacha]

One is the origin of the ship who start his trip from Sierra Leone. He controls all the cocaine who goes from Sierra Leone to other parts of the world. And we have also more information that he's receiving the cocaine from Suriname. He is putting in big warehouses is the number one for us.

[Ed Butler]

Would you say he is the most important figure in the West African trade coming to Europe?

[Lieutenant Colonel Oscar Ramacha]

Of course he is the boss in Sierra Leone, but he is also as Octopus he has his fingers in other parts of the world.

[Ed Butler]

This massive cocaine seizure from West Africa may only be the tip of of the iceberg. Lucia Bird runs the Observatory of Illicit Economies in West Africa at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. She says the region has become central for meeting Europe's hungry appetite for cocaine.

[Lucia Bird]

We have many indicators from seizures to increasing local consumption and decreasing retail prices that really point to a certain surge in the volume of cocaine that is being moved through West Africa towards Europe. And West Africa is not just a transit zone. It's really a logistics hub where cocaine is imported. It's amalgamated or cut up and then redistributed through the best channels to Europe. And trafficking cocaine through West Africa has allowed trafficking networks to cycle sidestep some of the increased scrutiny that trade froze from Latin America were experiencing coming into Europe.

[Ed Butler]

Are you worried about state capture here? That literally we have governments in West Africa that are beyond the reach of international law enforcement.

[Lucia Bird]

The word narco state has been used for far too freely and without a clear definition. What we can evidence is that the world's cocaine trade is bigger than it's ever been and that a very significant portion of that is moving through West Africa. Now with more cocaine comes more money and some of that money is being used to purchase protection.

[Ed Butler]

The Spanish seizure has certainly added to the global focus on llos Lydekers. Just 35 years old, he's already one of Europe's most wanted drug fugitives.

[Giel Timmermans]

Jos Leydecker grew up in the south of the Netherlands near a city called Breda, located right between the ports of Rotterdam, Antwerp and also Vlissingen, famous or infamous for its cocaine trafficking. And I think that's undoubtedly played a part in how Jos ended up in the life of crime.

[Ed Butler]

This is Giel Timmermans. He's a Dutch journalist who's pieced together what's known about the beginnings of of the Netherlands Mr. Big, when he was

[Giel Timmermans]

19 years old, he gets in an argument in a nightclub and then suddenly Jos Lydeckers pulls a gun from underneath his his jacket and then shoots two brothers. Both of them survive the shooting, but it's his first real conviction in the Netherlands, because Jos ended up four years in prison. And we all know, of course, that prison is like your University of crime. You know, that's where you meet other people, you get connected. And we know that he came in contact with some big traffickers when he was free. He was growing very rapidly in a scene of cocaine trafficking. He had a brilliant corrupt contacts in the harbors of especially Antwerp, but also Rotterdam. So other big criminals who wanted their drugs, they hired Jos Leideeckers to help them because he had the corrupt contacts, he had the people to take out the drugs from the containers. And four years later, he was already a big shot in cocaine trafficking. So it was very rapidly and nobody knew who he was.

[Ed Butler]

Or at least not until 2019, when Dutch police cracked the secret telephone networks used amongst the local cocaine dealers. But before they could move in and seize him, Jos Lydicus had fled to Turkey. The authorities were unable to reach him there, although in his absence, both Dutch and Belgian courts have now sentenced Jos Lydekus on multiple counts.

[Giel Timmermans]

He was convicted for 24 years in prison for cocaine trafficking, but also violence. In Belgium you have all kind of cases. I think it adds up to 65 years in prison divided in seven cases, court cases. So if you all add it up, he has to be imprisoned for another 89 years. So suddenly your slide is one of the biggest guys we all know now. And suddenly you see law enforcement in America, England, Spain, Italy, they are all focusing on this, your slideeckers.

[Ed Butler]

The Dutch journalist Heal Timmermans. You're listening to Business Daily from the BBC World Service.

[Whole Foods Market Advertiser]

This is summer at its peak. Whole Foods Market. Summer Fruit Fest is your invitation to eat the season fresh, organic and bursting with flavor. Start your day with peaches and organic blueberries and yogurt. Build a grazing board with fresh fruit, prosciutto and artisanal cheese. Then fire up the grill with no antibiotics ever. Proteins and fresh produce. Savor the season. Shop Summer Fruit Fest at Whole Foods Market.

[Giel Timmermans]

I cashed out my entire 401k thinking someone stole my idea.

[Lucia Bird]

A fake email cost me my dream home. After I sent my personal information to

[Ed Butler]

a scammer, my AI agent wired thousands to an account I'd never seen.

[Jen Digital Advertiser]

When billions of people feel unsafe, that's no longer a security problem. It's an economic one. At Jen, we're building the trust layer for A more fearless planet with products and technologies from our global brands, Norton, Lifelock, Avast and Money Lion. See it in [e-mail]

[Ed Butler]

I'm Ed Butler, and in today's show, the first of two programs, I'm looking at the criminal career of one of Europe's most wanted drugs dealers and how he wound up in plain sight in one of Africa's poorest nations. It wasn't until 2023 that Turkish police raided his luxury properties in Istanbul. But by then he jumped the gun again. And no one knew where he'd gone until a few months later. This was when the Sierra Leonean public first learned of the mysterious and clearly very wealthy foreigner living in their midst. A violent brawl at a nightclub in the Sierra Leonean capital, Freetown. Caught on camera. Sophie van Leeuwen is a Dutch TV reporter covering Africa for NTL News.

[Sophie van Leeuwen]

There's been a shooting. He was involved. Other people were involved, so he was kind of known in Freetown, but the people around him, people working for him, of course, so many people are working in this business and his drivers know people know where he goes. At the same time, they got to be silent.

[Ed Butler]

Remind us, what do the police say after that incident?

[Sophie van Leeuwen]

Well, he was a businessman. He was known as Omar Sharif from Turkey. That's the way he presented himself. He had a Turkish passport, so he was known as being a Turkish businessman with a lot of money, investing big money in Sierra Leone, and that's why he was very welcome.

[Ed Butler]

Mysteriously, despite one man suffering two gunshot wounds to his kneecaps, the signature Lydekker's punishment, it seems the Sierra Leonean police dropped all charges against their Turkish suspect. Omar Sharif was never identified in public. People could hardly help noticing him around town, though. A conspicuous and flamboyant foreigner.

[Sophie van Leeuwen]

People knew him because he was giving people, poor people, three boys, money, dollars. He was hanging around at the Peninsula, of course, you know where the resorts are and. But also at the casino, at the spa restaurants, it is like a public secret.

[Ed Butler]

Pretty soon, Dutch reporters were starting to ask, was this mystery businessman actually their missing fugitive? Sophie van Leeuwen went to Freetown to investigate further.

[Sophie van Leeuwen]

So I went to the Scarlet Club where the shooting happened. I asked about, have you ever heard of your slide deckers? And one guy told me, I know him. He's a very well known man. He goes to the spa, he likes massage. He visits the president's daughter, Agnes Biot, and he gives her presents, flowers or other presents to the driver. They also like to go out together. So the Authorities said, we don't know him, but local people tell us we do know him and we know he's

[Ed Butler]

connected to the president, Sophie van Leeuwen. Well, the story really gained international attention when a silent video later emerged showing a church service attended by the president, Julius Mardebillo, and his wife Fatima. Just one row behind them is a clearly recognizable Jos Lydekkers, and he's sitting right next to the president's daughter, Agnes. Rumours suggest that the couple may now have a child together. What's more, the video had been published on the first lady Fatima bio's own Facebook page before it was later taken down. In a TV interview this year, the BBC's Megha Mohan questioned the first lady on the subject.

[Florence Lilema Katta]

Do you know who Jos Ladekhus is? I have no idea who he is. You don't know who he is? No. So Joss Ladekkers is one of the most wanted criminals in Europe? I wouldn't know because I'm not a criminal, so I will not know. He is a drug kingpin and he is said to be married to the president's daughter. Really? Well, maybe in another life. They say that they have a child together. These are all the lies I am not going to validate. I suppose the question is, though, how did one of Europe's most wanted drug dealers get to be so close to Sierra Leone's first family, as was shown in the video? Whoever is in that room is none of my business. My own video is not prescribed for certain people or Dutch people. I don't bring people into church. I'm not a Christian, I'm a Muslim. So when I go to church service, which means I'm invited like every other person, I don't bring people into church, so I don't know who was in that church.

[Ed Butler]

But the rumours on local social media pages persist. Regular drug deliveries have been spotted along the peninsula beaches. At night, there are sightings of Lydicus himself, always surrounded by armed guards. In March this year, I visited Sierra Leone myself. When my microphone appeared, though, it was clear local fishermen were not keen to discuss the alleged presence of a major drugs dealer. They say that there are guys coming with the drugs. Did you ever see any of them? The drug boats?

[Florence Lilema Katta]

No, no, no.

[Ed Butler]

We have never set eyes on that.

[Florence Lilema Katta]

Our people don't like drugs, so they will not come with drugs here.

[Ed Butler]

But with a lowered voice, one man did direct my attention to a nearby harbor. That harbor is not to the benefit of the fisherman. What is it for? Whatever they say it is, he Won't tell you the truth. Other things are taking place there which are not. They're not legitimate

[Sophie van Leeuwen]

smuggling.

[Ed Butler]

Florence Lilema Katta is a journalist and women's rights activist who did speak to me on the subject. She says that many people in the town are now talking, although they're afraid.

[Florence Lilema Katta]

We are seeing a lot of comments on Josh Lydekers, him being around, floating around, you know, enters the nightclub. But according to the police, they do not have any record of him. They do have a record of a sheriff guy, you know, so people around will tell you, oh, we met somebody like him, or, you know, the gossips are saying. And we are reading keenly and ensuring that we take notes on what the media is saying because it's deeply concerning. We do not know, as civil unions, whether it's Omar Sharif or it's Josh Lidecker's.

[Ed Butler]

But is there any doubt that he is still in Freetown?

[Florence Lilema Katta]

Well, you know, the issue about Josh Lideckers is surrounded with so many allegations, and the only appropriate body who can really provide that accurate information that will make civil unions feel, oh, it's the government. We as citizens are still looking forward to having a concrete and honest outcome of the investigations.

[Ed Butler]

Freetown journalist Florence Katter. In the second of these programs, I'm going to be speaking directly to the country's justice minister about Jos Lydekers, about his alleged links with the president's family. He's now on an Interpol most wanted list and is facing a formal extradition request from the Netherlands. So far, though, the Sierra Leonean government have made no moves to arrest him or even to acknowledge his presence. We do note that the Dutch government is interested in an individual who is alleged to be based here in Sierra Leone, running operations in the drug trade. So, I mean, he's been widely seen. There are photos and videos of him with the president and the first lady in the last couple of years. Isn't he raising a family with the president's daughter? I mean, I wouldn't know.

[Florence Lilema Katta]

I wouldn't know.

[Ed Butler]

You don't know if he's raising a family with the president's daughter? Look, the point is that, you know, if he's confirmed to be the person of interest, that person will be arrested. You can hear more of that next Monday, when I'll also be asking, what does this controversy say about the future of one of Africa's poorest and most vulnerable democracies? I do hope you'll join me for that.

[Giel Timmermans]

I cashed out my entire 401k thinking

[Ed Butler]

someone stole my identity.

[Lucia Bird]

A fake email cost me my dream home. After I sent my personal information to

[Ed Butler]

a scammer, my AI agent wired thousands to an account I'd never seen.

[Jen Digital Advertiser]

When billions of people feel unsafe, that's no longer a security problem. It's an economic one. At jen, we're building the trust layer for a more fearless planet. With products and technologies from our global brands, Norton, Lifelock, Avast, and Money Lion. See it in action at gendigital. Com.