Authorities in Dubai have arrested former Dutch international striker "Quincy Promes" based on a request from his home country seeking his extradition after he was convicted last month of cocaine trafficking, prosecutors in the Netherlands announced on Wednesday.
The 32-year-old striker, for whom an international arrest warrant had been issued, had been under house arrest since early March, according to several media outlets, at a luxury hotel in Dubai on charges of violating local laws. Prosecutors stated in a press release that Promes was arrested this time at the request of legal authorities worldwide and was held in custody in both the Netherlands and the UAE, with the Netherlands set to request Promes' extradition, as reported by Agence France-Presse.
A Dutch court had previously sentenced Promes, who was representing Spartak Moscow during his arrest, to six years in prison on February 14 for smuggling over a ton of cocaine into the Netherlands. Fearing arrest by local police, the player, who has made 50 international appearances for the Dutch national team and scored 7 goals, did not attend court in the Netherlands to hear his verdict, while Russia refused his extradition.
As reported by the Dutch public broadcaster "NOS," citing Russian media, Promes was detained at Dubai Airport on March 1 due to an escape from a car accident, not based on a Dutch extradition request. Promes had participated in a training camp with Spartak in Dubai, and while the rest of the team returned to Russia, he was arrested and transferred to a police station, later moving to a luxurious hotel under house arrest, according to numerous media reports.
The striker was found guilty of playing a "crucial role" in assisting a partner in the trafficking of 1,363 kilograms of cocaine from Brazil in 2020, via the Belgian port of Antwerp to the Netherlands. Promes was also sentenced to 18 months in another case after he stabbed his cousin over a stolen necklace in 2020.
