Dutch Fugitive Jan G. Arrested in Germany Following Fatal Overasselt Gang Attack

Arrest on the A44 motorway

German police arrested 28-year-old Jan G. on Friday, 18 September 2026, acting on a request from Dutch authorities. The arrest took place at a parking area along the A44 motorway near the German town of Soest, located east of Dortmund and approximately two hours by car from Overasselt. Jan G. had vanished following an armed attack at his residence at the start of September. Dutch prosecutors have requested his extradition to face criminal proceedings. His lawyer, Ralph Takens, stated on Friday that he could not yet confirm whether the detained individual was his client.

The armed assault in Overasselt

The manhunt originated from an attack on 1 September 2026 at Jan G.'s property on Ewijkseweg in the Dutch village of Overasselt. Video recordings from the scene showed a group of dozens of men carrying handguns and automatic rifles disembarking from a bus and advancing toward the residence. The attackers fatally shot 51-year-old security guard Berry Leenders from Wijchen, who was sitting in his car while guarding the property. The assailants then engaged in a firefight with responding police officers, injuring two officers, before fleeing. Jan G. escaped the premises through the back door during the shooting.

Dunkirk seizure and the cocaine trail

Investigators suspect Jan G. of involvement in an attempt to smuggle nearly 4,000 kilograms of cocaine (specifically 3,857 kilograms) into the Netherlands. French customs intercepted the narcotics on Monday, 7 September 2026, at the port of Dunkirk inside a container filled with plastic waste that originated in Ghana and was bound for Antwerp. The street value of the shipment was estimated at roughly 225 million euros. On 4 September 2026, three days before the Dunkirk discovery, Dutch police in Dordrecht arrested a suspect tied to the same transport. Ghanaian authorities also arrested three men over the weekend in connection with the shipment, including 34-year-old Desmond C. from Amsterdam, whom Ghanaian officials identified as an associate of fugitive drug trafficker Jos Leijdekkers. In criminal circles, Leijdekkers, known as "Bolle Jos", was linked to a dispute with Jan G. over stolen cocaine, though Leijdekkers denied any involvement through his legal counsel.

Legal proceedings and ongoing investigations

Dutch authorities have targeted 36 suspects in connection with the Overasselt violence, with 33 individuals currently held in custody, including two minors. A 23-year-old Dutch national, detained in Belgium on 9 September 2026 and later extradited to the Netherlands, appeared before an examining magistrate on Friday and received a two-week detention order. Meanwhile, the Arnhem court extended the pre-trial custody of 32 suspects by 90 days, while one Belgian suspect was released after initial investigative results failed to place him at the scene. Three parallel criminal investigations are active: one focusing on the murder and attempted manslaughter charges from 1 September, a second seeking the masterminds who directed the armed group, and a third examining the seized cocaine shipment.

Past criminal history in Gelderland

Jan G. and his father first drew police attention in 2019 after a fire at their Overasselt property exposed an amphetamine laboratory, which the family claimed had been constructed by tenants while they were away on vacation. In March 2021, Jan G. established an MDMA production site at a shipyard in Angeren. Communications regarding that facility occurred over the ANOM encrypted network, a platform operated covertly by the FBI, leading to his arrest approximately two months after operations commenced.