—Question. A Suriname lawmaker asked on Friday whether two private jets carried a wanted Dutch drug suspect.
—Unconfirmed. Nobody in authority has said Jos Leijdekkers was aboard or in Suriname; the claim is the lawmaker’s.
—Ruling. Acting chair Rossellie Cotino of Suriname’s National Assembly (parliament) ordered the suspect’s name struck from the record.
—Suspect. Leijdekkers is wanted by the Netherlands and convicted in Belgium; Dutch prosecutors offer a US$2.2 million tip reward.
—As of 14 November 2026, 07:00 GMT
A Surinamese lawmaker has asked his government to explain two private jets at Suriname’s main international airport. He also asked whether a fugitive Dutch cocaine suspect was on board.
A Question Raised in Parliament
Bronto Somohardjo, floor leader (head of his party’s lawmakers) of the PL party (Pertjajah Luhur) in the National Assembly, asked the government on Friday 13 November 2026 to clarify the landing of two private jets at Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport at Zanderij, near the capital Paramaribo. He said he had information that internationally wanted people linked to drug trafficking were among the passengers.
He named Jos Leijdekkers, a Dutch fugitive known as “Bolle Jos”, as one possible passenger. This is Somohardjo’s claim; we found no official statement confirming it, and we could not obtain the official session record, so this account rests on one report.
Somohardjo cited an earlier remark by Asiskumar Gajadien, floor leader of the VHP party (Progressive Reform Party), who had raised questions about the aircraft some weeks before. As Somohardjo relayed it, one jet has since left and the other is still held.
He then listed what he wants to know. Was it investigated whether Leijdekkers was on board, and how were the passengers identified?
He also asked whether Dutch prosecutors had put questions to their Surinamese counterparts, and whether those questions are still unanswered. A further question was whether the national carrier handled the planes itself instead of using its ground-handling arm.
Archive photo of historic buildings in central Paramaribo, Suriname’s capital. Photo: Loek Tangel / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).What the Chair Said
Rossellie Cotino, the acting chair of the assembly, told Somohardjo that names may not be mentioned in parliament. He ordered the name Leijdekkers removed from the record.
Cotino also told Somohardjo not to make insinuations about the procureur-generaal, Suriname’s attorney general. Somohardjo had said he kept hearing reports that this official approved the release of the planes.
We have found no reply from the government or the prosecution service to any of these questions. We found no public statement on who owns the jets, where they came from or why one is held.
Who Jos Leijdekkers Is
Leijdekkers is a Dutch drug suspect who is on the run. Dutch prosecutors say a Rotterdam court sentenced him on 25 June 2024 to 24 years for six cocaine shipments totalling almost 7,000 kilograms, an armed robbery in Finland and ordering a killing.
Prosecutors say a Belgian court gave him a further 79 years. On Monday 2 November 2026 the Dutch prosecution service raised the reward for a tip leading to his arrest tenfold, to €2 million (about US$2.2 million at about 1.11 US dollars per euro on 11 November).
Dutch authorities have said since summer 2024 that he lives in Sierra Leone in West Africa. The prosecution service says the reward is for information leading to his arrest.
Why It Matters in the United States
Suriname is a small country on South America’s north coast, but cocaine moves from the region through European ports such as Rotterdam and Antwerp. Both the United States and Europe have a stake in cutting that supply chain.
The claim is unproven, but it touches airport oversight in a small country that sits on a cocaine route to Europe. Readers should treat it as a question put to the government, not as a finding.
National Assembly: Suriname’s parliament.
Floor leader: the person who leads a party’s group of lawmakers in parliament.
Procureur-generaal: the country’s attorney general, the top prosecutor.
Bolle Jos: a Dutch nickname meaning roughly “Chubby Jos”, used for Leijdekkers.
What It Means for You
If you invest in Suriname, watch whether the government answers on airport controls. Clear answers would reassure foreign partners, and silence would keep the question alive.
For readers following US-Latin America drug policy, the story is a reminder that West African, South American and European cocaine routes can overlap. Dutch prosecutors place Leijdekkers in Sierra Leone, and the question here is whether he was ever in Suriname.
What Is Not Known
It is not known whether Leijdekkers was ever in Suriname, or on either jet. Nobody has said who owned or chartered the aircraft or why one is held.
It is also not known whether Dutch prosecutors contacted Surinamese ones, or who approved any release. The government’s next move is unclear, and we will report it when it speaks.
For context, see our guides to who holds power in Suriname and Suriname Explained. Both pages explain the country’s political and economic background.
Regional power rankings are in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index. It does not rate this case, which is a question and not a finding.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Bronto Somohardjo?
He is the floor leader of the PL party (Pertjajah Luhur) in Suriname’s National Assembly. On 13 November 2026 he asked the government about two private jets and a possible passenger.
Was Bolle Jos in Suriname?
That is not confirmed. Only Somohardjo has said so, as a question, and no official has confirmed or denied it.
Where do Dutch authorities say Leijdekkers lives?
Dutch prosecutors say they have known since summer 2024 that he is staying in Sierra Leone. They offer €2 million (about US$2.2 million) for a tip leading to his arrest.
How solid is this report?
We could not obtain the official record of the session, so the account rests on one report of it. The facts about Leijdekkers come from the Dutch prosecution service.
Dutch Public Prosecution Service, 2 November 2026 · Dutch National Police