Former Netherlands national Quincy Promes sentenced to 6 years in prison for drug trafficking

Quincy Promes has been sentenced to six years in prison for drug trafficking, Dutch media reported Wednesday.

Public broadcaster NOS said an Amsterdam court sentenced the former Netherlands and Ajax Amsterdam player in absentia for smuggling at least 1,350 kilograms (2,976 pounds) of cocaine in 2020 through the port of Antwerp in Belgium.

NOS said telephone taps showed Promes was directly involved in cocaine trafficking, citing court documents.

Another suspect received the same sentence.

Promes, 32, currently plays for Russian football club Spartak Moscow.

According to his defense team, Promes denied the charges but the court issued an arrest warrant.

Promes previously played for Dutch powerhouse Ajax and Sevilla in Spain.

Generally playing on the left flank, Promes scored 114 goals in 235 matches for Spartak Moscow in two different stints.

He won the Russian championship with Spartak Moscow in 2017.

Promes scored seven goals in 50 international appearances for the Netherlands in 2014 - 2021.

He played for the Dutch national team during EURO 2020.