Extradition of Jan G. to the Netherlands approved

At least Jan G. can now look forward to one thing: he no longer has to fear for his life every day. Instead, he will spend his time in custody, presumably in the Vught maximum security prison. As the newspaper “De Telegraaf” reports, a German judge approved the extradition of Jan G. to his home country, the Netherlands, on Thursday.

They have issued a European arrest warrant against the 28-year-old man, who has already been convicted of drug-related offenses. This time it's about a cocaine shipment that was intercepted in the port of Dunkirk on September 7th: 3.9 tons of cocaine with a black market value of 225 million euros. Jan G. is said to be the client.

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On September 18th he was stopped and arrested by the German police on the A 44 near Soest. His wife and children were also in the car. The family had had exciting weeks, with changing hiding places. She was on the run, not from the police, but from a rival drug gang. In fact, she had only narrowly escaped death when, at four in the morning on September 1st, more than thirty masked and heavily armed people suddenly appeared in front of her house in Overasselt. The tranquil community is located in Gelderland, a few kilometers from the border with Germany.

Even the Dutch were shocked

What happened that night shocked even the Dutch, who are used to all kinds of drug-related crime. The masked people, all male and between 16 and 32 years old, were recruited through criminal networks. They first met in a warehouse in Brussels, where they were informed of their mission: they were to raid Jan G.'s house and kill everyone who was there. This is what some of the suspects who were later arrested said, according to police. The leaders were given automatic weapons, the others pistols. They then set off for Overasselt in several vans.

There the men marched to Jan G.'s property on Ewijkseweg, which was documented by surveillance cameras. In front of the house, two people from the group shot a guard that G. had hired. Shortly afterwards, a patrol car arrived that had received an emergency call. The masked men immediately opened fire; several shots can be heard in quick succession on a video. The two young police officers were seriously injured, one of whom was now in danger of dying. After this incident, the attackers fled. Jan G. also fled through his back garden, allegedly in his underpants and with a small child in his arms. He wasn't injured.

He was forewarned. Even before the attack, a video showing four masked men was circulating on social networks. Three are armed with assault rifles and a submachine gun, the fourth, who has significant reading difficulties, makes a death threat. He speaks English with a Spanish accent and accuses Jan G. of stealing “1283 kilograms” from “our Belgian friend in Spain”. This amount never left Spain. “You have twelve hours to return the goods,” says the masked man. “After that, we’ll kill everyone you love.” His wife, children, entire family, friends and everyone who would have helped him.

The cocaine was hidden in coconuts

The 1,283 kilograms in question were cocaine and hidden in coconuts that were imported into Spain in a shipping container. On September 8, Spanish police said they had intercepted the cargo in Seville just before the goods were due to be delivered. She had been keeping an eye on the suspicious delivery for months. Investigators did not reveal who was behind it.

Dutch newspapers, citing unnamed sources, make a connection to Jos Leijdekkers, one of the country's most wanted criminals. Leijdekkers is under the protection of Sierra Leone; the Dutch government has been trying in vain for almost two years to extradite the man, who was sentenced in absentia in Belgium and the Netherlands to a total of 102 years in prison. It is noteworthy that Justice Minister David van Weel himself named Leijdekkers in connection with the Overasselt incident. His lawyers denied any involvement of their client.

The attackers were arrested by the police in a concerted operation after the crime, and 32 people have been in custody since then. They are accused of killing the security guard, attempted murder of the two police officers, preparatory acts for murder, manslaughter, taking hostages and deprivation of liberty, as well as illegal possession of weapons. 16 people come from France, eleven from the Netherlands, two each from Belgium and Algeria and one each from Libya and Ukraine.

Access to the property is blocked

Jan G. has a long criminal history. In 2019, investigators discovered a drug laboratory in a shipping container on the property in Overasselt. Two years later, they uncovered another lab producing the synthetic drug MDMA, better known as ecstasy. In April of this year he was sentenced to four years in prison. However, because he appealed, he was allowed to remain free until the final verdict. There are also further money laundering proceedings against him and his father, for whom the property is registered in the land register.

The mayor responsible for Overasselt has blocked access to the property for a year. Joeri Minses said he hoped he could help the community regain some peace, even if the feeling of security would not return any time soon.