Latest news with #Marengo
Sunday World
2 days ago
- Business
- Sunday World
Dutch officials demand record $250m from fugitive drug lord hiding in Africa
The fugitive drug trafficker Jos Leijdekkers, also known as Bolle Jos or 'Chubby Jos', is believed to be in Sierra Leone Leijdekkers is also known as Bolle Jos or 'Chubby Jos" Dutch prosecutors are to confiscate a record $250 million from one of Europe's most-wanted criminals. The fugitive drug trafficker Jos Leijdekkers, also known as Bolle Jos or 'Chubby Jos', is believed to be hiding over 4,000 miles away in Sierra Leone. Leijdekkers is believed to have made €114m from 14 cocaine shipments in less than a year. As well as real estate including a hotel in Turkey and apartments in Dubai, public prosecutors say the 33-year-old also spent €47m on 975 kilograms of gold in less than six months. Intercepted communications point to other luxury goods hoovered up by the drugs kingpin, including two Bentley cars, designer bags, jewellery and watches. There are all added to the total of illicit assets, bringing the total to $253 million, which is 'only a first step towards tracing Leijdekkers' assets,' prosecutors have said Leijdekkers was sentenced in absentia to 24 years in prison for ordering a murder and organising cocaine shipments by a Rotterdam court last June. The fugitive drug trafficker, Jos Leijdekkers, pictured in Sierra Leone News in 90 June 4th Considered to be 'one of the key players in international cocaine trafficking," according to Europol, he is on their most-wanted list, with the European police body offering over $225,000 for information leading to his arrest. Dutch authorities said they were "absolutely certain" he was hiding out in Sierra Leone last January, when the BBC reported that Dutch prosecutor Wim de Bruin said the fugitive's return to the Netherlands was of "the highest priority." Suspicions he was in Sierra Leone arose after the country's first lady Fatima Bio posted pictures and a video on social media that showed a man strongly resembling Leijdekkers at a religious service. Images apparently showing Leijdekkers in the company of officials as high as President Julius Maada Bio and his daughter prompted exiled Sierra Leone opposition figure Mohamed Mansaray to accused Bio and his government of "offering refuge" to the drug lord. According to Mansaray, Leijdekkers has coupled up with the president's daughter Agnes Bio, who is seen accompanying the drug lord in the images. Leijdekkers is also known as Bolle Jos or 'Chubby Jos" Europol also believe that Leijdekkers was involved in the disappearance and death of Naima Jillal, a woman who went missing in 2019 after she got into a car in Amsterdam Intercepted messages allegedly showed that Leijdekkers "played an important role in Jillal's disappearance," the agency said. "For a long time, there was no trace of Naima Jillal, until photos of a woman believed to be her were found on a phone seized in the Marengo investigation," Europol said. "The photos show that she was most likely tortured and is probably no longer alive." In April, we reported how journalists were being actively bribed and threatened to stop reporting on Leijdekkers. Several reporters, who are in hiding, told John van den Heuvel, a journalist for Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, that the government of Sierra Leone had offered them sums of up to €5,000 to cease the publication of details about their connection to the most wanted person in the Netherlands. Reporters who are not accepting the money are being threatened. The journalists have said that €5k is 'unprecedentedly high by African standards' which to them indicates how important it is to those in power that the story is kept quiet. Fearing for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, some reporters have fled the country. One journalist who has applied for political asylum in the United States told De Telegraaf: 'There is no freedom of the press in our country. 'Our government, including the president, facilitates the criminal group to which Leijdekkers belongs. 'Journalists no longer dare to write about the matter. It is extremely dangerous.' Bolle Jos, which means 'Tubby Jos' in Dutch, is hiding in the African country while on the run and according to investigative journalists at Follow The Money, he was filmed handing Alusine Kanneh, the country's head of immigration, a birthday present in March. The publication says that according to 'well-placed sources' the 33-year-old is in a relationship with Agnes Bio, who is the daughter of president Julius Maada Bio. De Telegraaf further reported she is pregnant with his child. They also report that the Sierra Leone government has 'barely responded' to several diplomatic and legal assistance requests made by the Netherlands as they try to extradite the man Europol once described as 'one of the key players in international cocaine smuggling'. Following the media storm around Jos Leijdekkers' presence in Sierra Leone, the government released a press statement that claimed the president had 'no knowledge of the identity and the issues detailed in the reports about the individual in question.' They further claimed to launch a 'transparent and through investigation' to establish the facts. A month later the Inspector General of Police (IGP), William Fayia Sellu, claimed that following an investigation, they found the man accused of being Leijdekkers, is actually a man named Omarr Sheriff. It is unclear if Jos is living under an assumed name or if they're claiming it's a case of mistaken identity. Bolle Jos' wife Hanane is also looking for him as she wants her son, who has been living with him illegally for the last two years, returned to her.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Prosecutors seek record $250 million from fugitive drug lord
Dutch prosecutors said Monday they were seeking to confiscate a record $253 million from one of Europe's most notorious drug lords, thought to be hiding in Sierra Leone. The illegal assets amassed by Jos Leijdekkers, also known as "Bolle Jos" or "Chubby Jos," were proceeds from cocaine trafficking, as well as purchases of gold and luxury items, the public prosecutors said. Leijdekkers is thought to have made 114 million euros from 14 cocaine shipments over less than a year. According to intercepted communications, the 33-year-old also spent 47 million euros on 975 kilograms of gold over less than six months. The kingpin additionally bought real estate including a hotel in Turkey and apartments in Dubai, the prosecutors alleged. Luxury goods including two Bentley cars, designer bags, jewellery and watches, were also added to the total of illicit assets, bringing the total to $253 million. "This is... only a first step towards tracing Leijdekkers' assets," the prosecutors said. A Rotterdam court last June sentenced Leijdekkers in absentia to 24 years in prison for ordering a murder and organizing cocaine shipments. He is on Europol's most-wanted list, with the European police body offering over $225,000 for information leading to his arrest. "Leijdekkers is considered to be one of the key players in international cocaine trafficking," according to Europol. In January, Dutch authorities said they were "absolutely certain" he was hiding out in Sierra Leone. The BBC reported that Dutch prosecutor Wim de Bruin said the fugitive's return to the Netherlands was of "the highest priority." Images apparently showing Leijdekkers in the company of officials as high as President Julius Maada Bio have sparked speculation the cocaine lord has cozied up to Sierra Leone's political class -- including the president's daughter. Suspicions he was in Sierra Leone arose after the country's First Lady Fatima Bio posted pictures and a video on social media that showed a man strongly resembling Leijdekkers at a religious service, also attended by President Bio. Exiled Sierra Leone opposition figure Mohamed Mansaray has accused Bio and his government of "offering refuge" to the drug lord. According to Mansaray, Leijdekkers has coupled up with the president's daughter Agnes Bio, who is seen accompanying the drug lord in the images. Leijdekkers is also believed to be involved in the disappearance and death of Naima Jillal, a woman who went missing in 2019 after she got into a car in Amsterdam, according to Europol. Intercepted messages allegedly showed that Leijdekkers "played an important role in Jillal's disappearance," the agency said. "For a long time, there was no trace of Naima Jillal, until photos of a woman believed to be her were found on a phone seized in the Marengo investigation," Europol said. "The photos show that she was most likely tortured and is probably no longer alive." January 6 defendant refuses Trump's pardon The wonderfully weird world of artist Luigi Serafini Everything we know about the Boulder attack on Israeli hostage march
CBS News
27-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Ohio deputy Daniel Sherrer shot and killed while responding to a domestic violence call
A sheriff's deputy in Ohio who responded to a domestic violence call at a home was fatally shot by a suspect who was wounded, authorities said. The Morrow County Sheriff's office said the shooting occurred Monday night in the town of Marengo, about 35 miles north of Columbus. Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Sheriff John Hinton identified the deputy as 31-year-old Daniel Sherrer, who had served with the department since March 2021. Morrow County Sheriff's Office Deputy Daniel Weston Sherrer. Credit: Morrow County Sheriff's Office/Facebook Sherrer "always had a smile on his face, never in a bad mood," Hinton said. He noted the death was a tough blow for the department but said everyone came into work Tuesday because "that's what we have to do, it's what he would have wanted." In a statement posted on the department's Facebook page, Hinton said Sherrer was shot shortly after he arrived at the home. The deputy and the suspect were both taken to a hospital, where Sherrer was pronounced dead a short time later. The sheriff said Tuesday he has not yet viewed body camera footage of the shooting, so he could not provide further details about what occurred. The suspect remains hospitalized in serious condition. On Tuesday, Hinton spoke with disdain for the suspect and refused to publicly identify the person. "You will never hear his name come from my lips, so if you want the name you will have to get it some other way, I'm not giving it to you," Hinton told reporters. "Why would I? He doesn't deserve it." The Delaware County Sheriff's Office will lead the investigation into the shooting, with assistance from the state's Bureau of Criminal Investigation. The sheriff's office said funeral arrangements for Sherrer will be announced at a later time. He is survived by his parents and numerous loved ones, authorities said.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Yahoo
Deputy shot, killed while responding to domestic call in Ohio
A community is mourning the death of a sheriff's deputy who was shot and killed in Ohio. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] A Morrow County Sheriff's deputy responded to a report of a domestic situation in Marengo on Monday night. Upon arrival, a shooting occurred, according to a social media post. TRENDING STORIES: Authorities called to reports of shots fired near Montgomery County apartment complex 4 hospitalized after crash involving police officer in Dayton 'Sick individual;' Police arrest man for taking photos of children during Memorial Day parade 'The deputy was struck and transported to the hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries,' said Morrow County Sheriff John Hinton. 'The subject was also shot and was transported to a hospital in serious condition.' The incident is under investigation by the Delaware County Sheriff's Office with assistance from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI). 'There are no words to express the pain being felt by our office,' said Sheriff Hinton. We will update this developing story. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Marengo Appoints Dr. Everett Vokes to the Scientific Advisory Board While Advancing Invikafusp alfa Clinical Program in PD-1 Resistant Solid Tumors
Appointment supports continued momentum of the company's rapidly accelerating precision oncology development strategy CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Marengo Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering novel approaches to precision T cell activation, today announced the appointment of Everett E. Vokes, M.D., to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). This appointment marks the latest expansion of Marengo's industry-leading SAB, comprised of world-class experts in clinical and translational oncology and immunology. With more than 40 years of clinical and translational research experience, Dr. Vokes is internationally recognized for his expertise in the treatment of head and neck and lung cancers. He is the John E. Ultmann Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine, Professor of Radiation and Cellular Oncology, and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Chicago. Dr. Vokes currently serves as Physician-in-Chief for the UChicago Medicine health system, and served as the 2021-2022 President of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). "We are honored to welcome Dr. Vokes to our esteemed team of scientific advisors guiding the development of Marengo's innovative oncology pipeline," said Zhen Su, M.D., M.B.A., Chief Executive Officer of Marengo Therapeutics. "Following our recent data presented at AACR showing pan-tumor activity of Invikafusp alfa in multiple solid tumors that are resistant to PD-1 treatment, Dr. Vokes' deep expertise and leadership in the landscape of clinical cancer research, specifically in thoracic oncology, will be instrumental in shaping our development strategy. His insight will not only help advance invikafusp as a next generation pan-tumor IO backbone but will also provide broader guidance as we progress our expanding pipeline." A long-standing leader in cooperative group research, Dr. Vokes chaired the CALGB (now part of the Alliance) Respiratory Committee and has served as principal investigator on numerous NCI-funded trials. He is the recipient of numerous honors, including the Translational Research Professorship from ASCO and the "Giant of Cancer Care" award in 2013. Dr. Vokes has published more than 450 scientific papers and 80 book chapters and has served on editorial boards for leading oncology journals including Journal of Clinical Oncology, Annals of Oncology, and Clinical Lung Cancer. "Marengo's approach to precision T cell activation represents a key scientific advancement with broad implications across different solid tumors that are treatment resistant to PD-1," Dr. Vokes said. "The early signs of activity in MSS CRC and PD-1 negative NSCLC – the populations historically resistant to immune checkpoint blockade — suggest a novel mechanism of action with the potential to overcome PD-1 resistance, which remains a very high unmet medical need. I'm honored to join this distinguished group of advisors and contribute to the clinical development of Marengo's pipeline as the team works to expand the impact of immunotherapy across difficult-to-treat cancers." About Marengo Therapeuticseve Marengo Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a first-in-class pipeline of novel TCR-targeting antibodies designed to selectively modulate disease-driving and protective T cell subsets. With its proprietary STAR™, TriSTAR™, and MSTAR™ platforms, Marengo is advancing precision immunotherapies that harness the body's T cell repertoire to provide durable responses against cancer and autoimmune diseases. Learn more at Media Contact:Peg Rusconi | Investor Contact:Svetlana Makhni | smakhni@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Marengo Therapeutics Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
