International footballer Quincy Promes has been sentenced to six years in jail in absentia for his part in smuggling more than a tonne of cocaine into the Netherlands via Antwerp.

The 32-year-old, who plays for Spartak Moscow, was not in court for the verdict in Amsterdam. Lawyers said after the hearing that they would lodge an appeal.

Promes is also facing 18 months in jail after a court convicted him last June of stabbing his nephew at a family gathering in 2020. That case was built on evidence gathered by police investigating the drug smuggling operation.

Customs officers intercepted a shipment of 1,350 kg of cocaine hidden in a consignment of sea salt that arrived in Antwerp in January 2020. They traced Promes and an accomplice to the shipment through encrypted chat messages.

The player, who has won 50 caps for the Netherlands, joined Spartak Moscow from Ajax in February 2021 for €8.5 million shortly after he was first arrested in connection with the stabbing.

Less than two years earlier Ajax had paid €15.7 million to re-sign Promes, who joined the club’s academy at the age of 10, from Spanish club Sevilla.