Dutch fugitive footballer Promes jailed in Dubai hit-and-run; Extradition talks to start

Dutch footballer Quincy Promes was initially arrested in Dubai on allegations of a hit-and-run, Russian media reported on Friday. He remained in custody at the Al Khawaneej police station 15 kilometers east of the airport where officials discovered that Interpol had issued a Red Notice naming him a fugitive, and calling for his arrest. Promes was ordered by a Dutch court to serve six years in prison last month for importing over 1,350 kilograms of cocaine.

A source close to the case told broadcaster NOS that the Netherlands is working with the United Arab Emirates to process Promes’ extradition. The Dutch Public Prosecution Service (OM) would not comment to media outlets on the matter. The two countries signed an extradition treaty in 2021, which was formally approved by the lower house of Dutch parliament in 2022, and the upper house last summer.

“Dutch national Quincy Promes was detained yesterday and taken to the Al Khawaneej police station,” a spokesperson at Al Maktoum Airport told the TASS news agency. He was first stopped at border control before he was taken into custody.

The traffic collision allegedly involving Promes happened on Thursday. The footballer, who now plays for Spartak Moscow, was accused of fleeing the scene. Running off from a minor accident can lead to one month in jail and a fine of 500 UAE dirhams, or roughly 125 euros. People convicted of a hit-and-run with injuries can face years of prison time and more substantial fines.

A source close to the investigation told TASS that Promes was under an Interpol Blue Notice when he arrived in Dubai to train with his current team in January. That status is a request that authorities keep tabs on an individual and collect information about them. After his conviction on drugs charges, Interpol upgraded his status to a Red Notice, which requests that authorities arrest someone considered a fugitive of law.

If convicted on the hit-and-run accusation, Promes could be ordered to first serve his sentence in the United Arab Emirates before being handed over to Dutch authorities. Promes was convicted in absentia on drug trafficking charges by the District Court of Amsterdam two weeks ago. He and a co-defendant, Marylio V., were sentenced to six years in prison for charges related to smuggling over 1,350 kilograms of cocaine into Europe via the Port of Antwerp in 2020.

“He seems to think he is untouchable in Russia or abroad,” the prosecutor said during the trial, as Promes refused to return to the Netherlands to face the charges. Promes was also convicted last June of stabbing his cousin in the knee at a family get-together in Abcoude. He was sentenced in absentia to 1.5 years in prison.

It was announced in February 2021 that Promes had returned Spartak Moscow for his second spell at the club for an 8.5 million euro fee. The 32-year-old played his last game for the Amsterdam football club, Ajax, on January 28, 2021, in a 2-0 win against Willem II. Promes earns around 2.7 million euros a year at the Russian club, excluding bonuses, according to earlier reports.

Dubai is set to host the World Police Summit starting next week, where three speakers from the Netherlands are due to give keynote addresses, including Dutch Deputy Police Commissioner Hanneke Ekelmans. Burkhard Muhl, the head of Europol's European Financial and Economic Crime Centre, and Irakli Beridze, who heads the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute, are also scheduled to present. Both are based in The Hague, with Muhl originally from Austria and Beridze from Georgia.