The curious case of Dutch international turned drug smuggler Quincy Promes | OneFootball

Quincy Promes has always been one for a watchlist. Once a common name in any Premier League transfer gossip column, the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal were said to be drawn to the electrifying attacking midfielder a decade or so ago, catching eyes as he stamped his mark as “one to watch” during his Spartak Moscow days.

It was in the Russian capital where the Dutchman spent the biggest portion of his career – seven years in total across two stints. The first, between 2014 and 2018, was when his stock was highest. His sort of player – a speedy, explosive midfield force who can operate both down the middle and on the wing – was very fashionable. And with an impressive record of 66 goals and 34 assists in 135 games for Spartak, it was no wonder some of Europe’s big-hitters were after him.

Fast forward into the 2020s and Promes, approaching his thirties, was still being targeted – only this time, it was by the Dutch police. He was a footballer turned fugitive, on the run from his country’s authorities on charges of aggravated assault and drug trafficking. It’s taken until now, after years of pursuit, for Promes to finally be extradited for his long-awaited imprisonment.

Promes was back in his homeland, playing with Dutch goliaths Ajax in 2020, when the gory details of his private life began to unravel in the public eye – his off-pitch notoriety skyrocketing. He was accused of stabbing his cousin at a family party in July of that year, a crime of soap-opera standard that stunned and stupefied the wider footballing world. He was detained in December before being released shortly after, pending investigation, during which Promes pleaded his innocence. But within just two months of being remanded in custody, the midfielder had moved out of the Netherlands entirely, opting to rejoin Spartak with his status as a free man under serious threat.

With Promes in Moscow, prosecutors slapped him with the charge of attempted murder, later downgraded to aggravated assault. But as the trial rolled around in March 2023, there was no sign of him. He’d stayed put in Russia, ignoring his court date, something the Netherlands could do nothing about due to the lack of an extradition treaty with the country, off the back of their war with Ukraine.

Quincy Promes stayed in Moscow and was sentenced for aggravated assault in absentia (Getty)

The Dutch court sentenced Promes to 18 months in absentia, meaning a jail cell awaited him if/when he decided to go home. He was seemingly unbothered by this, continuing to play his football at Spartak like nothing was happening – a second spell in Moscow that saw him bag 48 goals in 100 games to become the club’s sixth-highest all-time scorer. However, the assault verdict was only the tip of his criminal iceberg. Much more seriously for him, he had also been charged with involvement in trafficking an obscene quantity of cocaine – 1,362kg to be exact – through the Belgian port of Antwerp, which possessed a street value of tens of millions of euros.

Prosecutors argued that Promes wasn’t simply a lone cog to the smuggling operation – he was instead central to it. The player again denied the allegations, but prosecutors said that Dutch police had been tapping his phone since 2018, where they collated proof of him allegedly communicating about large-scale drug trafficking through encrypted messaging platforms.

The case raged on against the backdrop of increased links between football and organised crime in the Netherlands, a country now battling the wave of crime that comes with becoming a global epicentre for drug operations. The scandal surrounding Promes, a player who had 50 caps for his national team and competed at Euro 2020, was gripping the Dutch public.

Promes has 50 caps for the Netherlands (AP)

The trial came to a head at the beginning of 2024, once again made notable by Promes’s lack of presence. “He seems to think he is untouchable in Russia or abroad,” the prosecutor said during the trial. He was convicted and sentenced to six years’ imprisonment in absentia – again appealed and denied by the player via his lawyers – which was soon followed by an urgent bulletin issued by the Netherlands via Interpol to alert other countries of his status as a wanted fugitive.

At this time, Promes was in Dubai on a training camp with Spartak. No longer in the protective borders of Russia, the United Arab Emirates adhered to the red notice issued and took Promes into custody – he was caught by border control at Dubai International Airport just as he was intending to leave the country. However, UAE police communications were unclear, citing his alleged involvement in a hit-and-run car crash as the main reason for his arrest, with the notice seemingly a secondary factor.

The UAE ended up granting Promes his release, reportedly under intense pressure from Russian officials, while he awaited trial for this latest traffic offence. This was instead of immediately returning him to the Netherlands – something that’s admittedly easier said than done – meaning the Gulf state was yet to honour the extradition treaty between the two countries, which was signed in 2021. But with investigations ongoing in regards to the hit-and-run, he was forced to stay in the Middle East, where he continued to flaunt his extravagant life while on bond.

His inability to leave the UAE nevertheless led to him being dropped by Spartak in the summer, having missed the second half of the Russian Premier League season entirely. The walls looked to be finally closing in on Promes – he was a fiercely wanted man in the Netherlands, served with two serious convictions, and was now without the refuge of Moscow.

His international fugitive status didn’t prevent him from finding a new club, though. He joined Dubai United in September 2024 on a one-year deal, where he would score 13 goals in 19 appearances. This move acted as the beginning of his final chapter on the run, and upon the expiry of his contract this month, with his services no longer to the benefit of Dubai, Promes made an extraordinary last-ditch plea to the Dutch authorities to try and save his skin.

“I’m not going to lie that I miss the Netherlands very much and would like to come back,” he told RTL Boulevard, expressing his willingness to finally cooperate and attend trial. The catch? To avoid being thrown into jail upon his return, continuing his career while the appeal process is ongoing.

Promes said he would voluntarily return to the Netherlands but only if he was spared detention during his appeal process (AP)

“People have also often said that I am on the run, but I have been trying to get in touch with the justice department for some time to solve it,” he added. “I want to answer for myself in the Netherlands and continue my career. And that I fly back and forth to the Netherlands a few times when I am called up and then I can just continue playing football. That is what I want.”

Dutch prosecution previously refused to grant this request due to the lack of precedent in any similar case, meaning he would receive preferential treatment if they did spare him. His current lawyer, Cem Polat, filed such a request again, to no avail. And last week, shortly after the interview, Promes’s luck finally ran out.

Promes' time on the run is over following his extradition last week (Getty)

He was arrested in Dubai following a request by the Dutch police, and on Friday was extradited back to his homeland - as confirmed by the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service - where he will serve a seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence for his combination of convictions. His appeal of both cases rages on, which could yet lead to a harsher sentence, with the prosecution recommending he serves nine years behind bars.

But as that process continues, there will be no freedom for the ex-Ajax man. Once among the nation’s top exports, Promes’s inevitable demise into detention signals what is likely the end of the story for one of the game’s bad eggs, a cautionary tale that makes you ponder how such a successful footballer can fall so deep into the world of crime.