Spartak Moscow drops fugitive footballer Quincy Promes; Due to serve 7.5 years in jail

Dutch fugitive and professional footballer Quincy Promes is no longer under contract with Spartak Moscow, the Russian club announced on Monday. Promes was arrested in Dubai for involvement in a traffic accident during his team's winter camp in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), shortly after he was convicted in absentia in a Dutch criminal case for trafficking 1,362 kilograms of cocaine.

He was initially released on his own recognizance after his arrest at the Dubai airport for leaving the scene of an accident without paying for damages, though Dubai officials also indicated that a check of his passport alerted them to an Interpol bulletin about his fugitive status. He was eventually jailed for a few months after flaunting an extravagant lifestyle while on bond, and he has not been allowed to leave the United Arab Emirates.

"Quincy Promes missed the entire second half of the season due to personal reasons that prevented him from returning to Russia after the winter training camp in the UAE," Spartak Moscow wrote on Telegram. "Unfortunately, these circumstances are still in force, and it is not possible to talk about Quincy resuming his performance at the club at this stage." The Netherlands asked the UAE to extradite Promes, and a first hearing in the matter was held at the beginning of May.

The club indicated the Dutch player's contract concluded at the end of June. He first played in Moscow from 2014 to 2018, when he left for Sevilla. He excelled at Ajax a year later and represented the Netherlands during European Qualifiers and the Nations League group matches in 2019 and 2020, but his situation soon unraveled.

He was arrested in December 2020 for allegedly stabbing his cousin during a party. As the evidence against him was being collected, he left Amsterdam and returned to Spartak in 2021. While playing in Moscow, he was convicted in the stabbing and sentenced to 1.5 years in prison. He has appealed against that verdict.

Then, in May 2023 while still playing in Russia, Dutch prosecutors announced charges against Promes for financing and involvement in a scheme to import two batches of cocaine in January 2020 via the Port of Antwerp with a combined weight of 1,362 kilograms. The case relied heavily on intercepted chat messages that the perpetrators involved thought they were sending on the encrypted SkyECC network.

Promes and his co-defendant, Marylio V. from Purmerend, were both convicted of playing a direct role in the scheme. This included Promes allegedly chatting with people sent to the port to extract the cocaine hidden in shipments in sea containers. He was again convicted in absentia, and sentenced to six years in prison for cocaine trafficking.

He has also filed an appeal in that case. The hearing could also lead to a tougher sentence if the verdict is upheld. Prosecutors had recommended that the footballer serve nine years behind bars. “He seems to think he is untouchable in Russia or abroad,” the prosecutor said during the trial. They wanted to know “how such a successful footballer allowed himself to be drawn so deeply into crime.”

Spartak Moscow said on Monday that the club "hopes that in the future" they can welcome Promes back to their squad. He ranks sixth on the club's all-time goal scorer list, with 114 goals in 235 matches.

"The Dutchman became one of the main heroes of the championship season and scored the winning goal in the Russian Super Cup match in 2017. Five years later, he also scored the decisive goal in the Russian Cup final against Dynamo in Luzhniki."