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Footballer Promes put on international wanted list — Amsterdam prosecutor's office

The spokesman clarified that the request was filed by the Dutch prosecutor's office, and he is not wanted by any international organization such as Europol and Interpol

HAGUE, February 16. /TASS/. Dutch striker from the Russian Premier League’s Spartak Moscow Football Club Quincy Promes, convicted by an Amsterdam court for drug smuggling, has been put on the international wanted list, Franklin Wattimena, spokesman for the Amsterdam prosecutor's office, told TASS.

The spokesman clarified that the request was filed by the Dutch prosecutor's office, and he is not wanted by any international organization such as Europol and Interpol.

Wattimen declined to comment on the possibility of appealing to the Russian authorities to extradite him.

On Wednesday, a court in Amsterdam found Promes guilty in a drug smuggling case and sentenced him to six years in prison. The prosecution demanded a nine-year sentence for the player. Promes was absent during the trial, as the striker was at Spartak’s training camp in the United Arab Emirates preparing for the upcoming season. The crime took place at the end of January 2020 in the port of Antwerp. Smugglers managed to unload a 650 kg (more than 1,400 lbs) shipment of cocaine and transported it to a hangar near the port. Customs intercepted another shipment, weighing more than 712 kilograms (more than 1,500 lbs), on the same vessel. The evidence against the suspects consisted mainly of a large number of intercepted communications. Promes' lawyers intend to appeal the court's decision.

Promes is 32 years old and has been playing for Spartak Moscow FC since 2021. Previously the Dutchman played for the team from 2014 to 2018. In 2017, the footballer became a Russian champion and won the Super Cup. In the -2021/22 season, he won the country's cup. At the end of the 2022/23 season Promes was the runner-up for best striker in the World - Russian Premier League, finishing with 20 goals in 27 matches.

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