Overasselt shooting: Cocaine feud, a security guard’s death, and what it means for safety in Dutch villages

The early morning of September 1, 2026, shattered the quiet of Overasselt, a small village in Gelderland. Over 30 heavily armed men stormed a farm on the Ewijkseweg, fatally shooting security guard Berry Leenders and seriously wounding two police officers. The target of the attack was 28-year-old Jan G., a convicted drug criminal whose home was under guard that night. More than a month later, the community remains on edge, and new details continue to emerge about the violence and the sprawling drug trafficking network behind it.

Jan G. was arrested in Germany on September 18 on the A44 near Soest, at the request of Dutch police. He is suspected of involvement in an attempt to import 3,857 kilograms of cocaine, intercepted in Dunkirk on September 7. Sources told Dutch media that the cocaine shipment is linked to the criminal organization of Jos Leijdekkers, also known as ‘Bolle Jos’. Three of his alleged accomplices were previously arrested in Ghana in connection with the same shipment. The arrest of Jan G. came just days after a video appeared online in which masked, armed men accused him of stealing a cocaine shipment and threatened to kill his entire family if he did not return it. Source 1

For the residents of Overasselt, the trauma lingers. Mayor Joerie Minses of Heumen told NOS Nieuwsuur that people remain afraid, especially those living near Jan G.’s home or his family’s property. “The concerns have not gone away after four weeks. That really needs much more time,” Minses said. The mayor has requested additional funds from the national government for security measures such as camera surveillance, arguing that the crime is not solely a local problem and that the municipality should not bear the full financial burden. Source 2

Details released on October 10 shed more light on the events leading up to the shooting. Berry Leenders, the 51-year-old security guard who was killed, had been hired at the last minute and was not originally scheduled to be on duty that night. He had noticed men monitoring the house in the days before and had flagged suspicious footage from security cameras showing two men in hoodies lurking outside. The owner of the security company had confirmed that the same men had been seen earlier in the week. Source 3

Of the 32 suspects still in pre-trial detention, eight are from Amsterdam. On October 10, three more men — aged 23, 35, and 28, all from the Ghent area — were arrested on suspicion of murder, manslaughter, firearm possession, and membership in a criminal organization. During searches of homes and a warehouse in Belgium, data storage devices and vehicles, including a Range Rover, were seized. One suspect’s statement indicated that a Range Rover carrying weapons had been present at the Belgian warehouse the night before the murder. Source 3

What does this mean for expats and internationals?

Violence of this scale is rare in the Netherlands, but it underscores the reach of organized crime linked to the cocaine trade. For residents — including internationals who may not be familiar with Dutch institutions — it is useful to know how local authorities respond. The mayor (burgemeester) has the power to close properties deemed a threat to public order, as Minses did with Jan G.’s home and his brother-in-law’s house. Pre-trial detention (voorlopige hechtenis) is standard for serious offenses and can last months while investigations continue. The request for national funding highlights that smaller municipalities often lack resources to handle such large-scale security issues alone.

Open questions remain: What exactly motivated the attack on Jan G.’s farm? How deep does his connection to Jos Leijdekkers’ organization run? And will the national government step in to help Overasselt recover? For now, the village is left to grapple with the aftermath of a night that turned a quiet lane into a battlefield.