Freetown, Sierra Leone — Once primarily known for its recovery from civil war and rich natural resources, Sierra Leone is increasingly drawing international attention as a strategic node in the surging cocaine trafficking networks linking Latin America to Europe.
A comprehensive new report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC), titled Cocaine Markets in West Africa: Mapping Impacts, Routes, Trends and Actors, highlights how the country has become part of a “Western Hub” of coastal nations, including Guinea, Liberia, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, and Cabo Verde, where traffickers move multi-tonne shipments across the Atlantic.
The Port of Freetown stands out as a critical transit point. According to the report, it connects directly to major export hubs like Brazil’s Santos port, with significant cocaine consignments later seized in Europe, particularly at Belgium’s Port of Antwerp. While large-scale detections at Freetown itself remain rare in recent years, the pattern suggests sophisticated concealment and possible high-level facilitation.
Traffickers are employing creative and evolving methods. Beyond hidden containers, they use “daughter vessels” to retrieve cocaine bales dumped at sea in Sierra Leone’s territorial waters, often guided by GPS coordinates.
Local fishermen have reportedly been recruited to move loads of 100 kilograms or more along the coast or into neighboring Guinea, with operations frequently orchestrated by foreign networks.
In a striking development in early 2025, authorities discovered a semi-submersible “narco-sub” washed ashore at Black Johnson beach, the first known instance of such a vessel reaching Sierra Leone’s coastline. Private aircraft with suspected links to the trade have also been monitored in the country.
The report raises deeper concerns about the infiltration of drug profits into state structures. It points to the case of Dutch trafficker Jos Leijdekkers (also known as “Bolle Jos” or “Chubby Jos”), who was convicted in absentia in Belgium and the Netherlands for orchestrating massive cocaine shipments. Leijdekkers is said to have operated from Sierra Leone, forging connections that reportedly extended to members of the presidential family. Despite extensive media coverage of his presence, including footage from a church service attended by senior officials, accountability has been limited.
In January 2025, Sierra Leone recalled its ambassador to Guinea after Guinean authorities found suitcases containing suspected cocaine in embassy vehicles, an incident that underscored vulnerabilities even in diplomatic channels.
Opposition voices have seized on these developments, leaking alleged ties between Leijdekkers and the ruling elite and framing them as signs of systemic corruption ahead of the 2028 elections.
While the vast majority of the cocaine passing through Sierra Leone is destined for European markets, domestic consumption is on the rise. Crack cocaine is gaining ground in urban areas, with makeshift “hideouts” functioning as drug dens. Public health services, already stretched thin, are poorly equipped to handle the emerging crisis.
The GI-TOC analysis also flags potential involvement by Chinese nationals active in Sierra Leone’s fisheries sector in wholesale maritime smuggling, alongside networks using cashew shipments from Guinea-Bissau to India as cover for redistribution.
Overall, the report paints a picture of escalating risks for the country: a public health threat from rising local drug use, governance challenges posed by corruption linked to trafficking profits, and security implications as organized crime gains a foothold.
GI-TOC researchers, drawing on extensive field interviews and investigative data, urge Sierra Leone and its regional partners to strengthen port security, enhance intelligence-sharing, and improve screening capabilities. Without decisive action, experts warn, the nation risks becoming a deeply entrenched corridor in the global cocaine trade, with profound long-term consequences for stability and development.
