Former ‘Oranje’ player Quincy Promes, convicted last month of cocaine trafficking, was detained in Dubai at the request of the Netherlands, which will request his extradition, Dutch prosecutors announced on Wednesday.
The 32-year-old footballer, placed under international arrest warrant, had been under house arrest since the beginning of March, according to several media, in a luxury hotel in Dubai, the prosecution pointed out.
He was arrested almost two weeks ago in this city for a “local offense”.
Mr. Promes was this time arrested on the basis of a request addressed to law enforcement agencies around the world and “placed in detention thanks to the efforts of the authorities” of the Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates, prosecutors said.
“The Netherlands will request the extradition” of Mr. Promes, they added in a press release.
The striker, who plays for Spartak Moscow, was sentenced to six years in prison by a Dutch court on February 14 for smuggling more than a ton of cocaine into the Netherlands.
Fearing being arrested by the Dutch police, the international, who has 50 caps with the Oranje, did not go to court in the Netherlands to hear his sentence, and has so far not been extradited by Russia.
Public broadcaster NOS, citing Russian media, reported that Promes was arrested at Dubai airport on March 1 for fleeing the scene of a road accident.
The footballer was in Dubai for a training camp with his club. The rest of his team had returned to Russia, but Promes was arrested and taken to the police station, according to NOS.
Mr. Promes has since been staying in a luxury hotel, under house arrest, according to several media.
The attacker was convicted of playing “a crucial role” in the importation of 1,363 kilograms of cocaine from Brazil in 2020, via the Belgian port of Antwerp to the Netherlands, with the help of a partner in crime.
The player, who also played for Ajax Amsterdam, was also sentenced to 18 months in prison in connection with another case, for having stabbed a cousin because of a stolen necklace in 2020 .