Shadow‑fleet freighter Arconian seized with 30+ tons of cocaine, linked to Dutch mobster Jos Leijdekkers

Spanish police intercepted the cargo vessel Arconian off the coast of Western Sahara on 1 May, uncovering more than 30 tonnes of cocaine – the largest single cocaine seizure in the country’s criminal history. The ship, which has operated under several aliases such as Superseven, Jade and Boreas Scan, carried six armed men from the Netherlands and Suriname hidden in its bow and had recently docked in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Authorities say the shipment was coordinated by Dutch drug trafficker Jos Leijdekkers, known as “Bolle Jos”, a leading figure in the Mocro‑Mafia. Experts from the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime describe the case as evidence of a new “shadow fleet” that uses cheap or false flags and West‑African ports as staging points, shifting smuggling routes away from traditional northern European hubs toward Spain and France. The influx has driven cocaine prices in Europe to fall by about half since 2021, indicating a massive and sustained supply.