THE HAGUE, March 1. /TASS/. Police officers in the UAE detained Dutch footballer Quincy Promes, of the Spartak Moscow club, for a local offense, Franklin Wattimena, the spokesperson for the Dutch prosecutor's office has told TASS.
Dubai police on Thursday detained Promes while passing through border control at Al Maktoum International Airport. The player was taken to a police station. NOS TV later reported that the Dutch authorities were discussing with the UAE the possibility of extraditing the player.
"We have informed the Dutch media that we have checked the reports of Promes' arrest and learned from our contact person that Promes was arrested for a local offense and not for crimes committed in the Netherlands. For now, we are not going to answer the question whether or not we will request his extradition. That's it. We have not indicated that we are negotiating [his extradition]," the statement said.
On February 14, the Amsterdam District Court found Promes guilty in a drug smuggling case and imposed a six-year prison sentence. The prosecution had demanded a nine-year term. Promes was absent from the courtroom. Later, he was put on an international wanted list. The lawyers of the footballer filed an appeal against the decision in the Court of Appeal of Amsterdam.
The appellate court is also considering another case against Promes, who attacked his cousin with a knife. On June 19, 2023, the District Court of Amsterdam found the footballer guilty, sentenced him to 18 months in prison and ordered him to pay compensation to his relative.