A court in Rotterdam has sentenced former professional footballer David Mendes da Silva to seven years in prison for importing and selling cocaine.

Da Silva was found guilty of importing two batches of the drug weighing 74 and 105 kilos respectively. He was also implicated in preparations for importing a 1,300-kilo shipment which was intercepted by customs officials.

Mendes da Silva, who was arrested in August last year, also bribed a port worker to tell him the location of the containers in which the drugs were hidden. He was reportedly paid €50,000 for this while the port worker received €100,000.

Da Silva played for Sparta, Ajax, NAC Breda and became national champion with AZ in 2009. He also played for the Dutch national team between 2007 and 2009.