Former Roma and Belgium midfielder Radja Nainggolan has been arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking.
The 36-year-old, who won 30 caps for his country and also played for Inter and Cagliari, was detained by police this morning as part of an investigation into the movement of cocaine from South America into Europe.
A statement from the Brussels Public Prosecutor’s Office read: “The Federal Judicial Police of Brussels carried out 30 house searches on Monday morning as part of a file by the Organised Crime Department of the Brussels Public Prosecutor’s Office.
“The house searches took place mainly in the province of Antwerp and in Brussels.
“The investigation concerns alleged facts of importation of cocaine from South America to Europe, via the port of Antwerp, and its redistribution in Belgium.
“We can confirm that the footballer R.N. [Radja Nainggolan] was deprived of his freedom in the context of that file. Since the interrogations are currently underway, and taking into account the principle of presumption of innocence, no further comment will be given at this stage.”
𝙍𝘼𝘿𝙅𝘼 𝙄𝙎 𝙃𝙀𝙍𝙀. ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/BmAo5ndBgR
— KSC Lokeren – Temse (@KSCLokeren) January 22, 2025
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Out of retirement but straight into trouble
Nainggolan recently came out of retirement to sign for second division side Lokeren-Temse and scored on his debut as they drew 1-1 with Lierse on Friday.
In a statement, his club said today: “Since the investigation is still ongoing, the police services cannot comment further. They respect the principle of presumption of innocence.
“As a club, we join them. We can only confirm that the player was absent from training this morning.”
Glittering career at Serie A big guns
Nainggolan made his name as a teenager at Piacenza before joining Cagliari in 2010, making his debut in a defeat to Inter.
His combative displays for the Sardinian outfit saw him linked with a host of Italian clubs and he joined Roma, initially on loan, in January 2014 before making the switch permanent later that summer.
A £32milion move to Inter followed in June 2018, a month after he had retired from international football after failing to make Roberto Martinez’s squad for the World Cup in Russia.
Nainggolan made just 33 appearances for the Nerazzurri before returning on loan to Cagliari for the 2019-20 season.
Spells at Antwerp, SPAL and Indonesian side Bhayangkara followed before Nainggolan retired only to re-emerge and sign for Lokeren last week.
