Former Belgian star arrested for cocaine trafficking
- Former Belgium midfielder Radja Nainggolan was arrested on Monday as police crackdown on cocaine smuggling from South America
- The 36-year-old footballer, who recently came out of retirement, has a history of getting into trouble.
Former Belgium football star Radja Nainggolan has been arrested in a cocaine smuggling case.
Police picked up the footballer on Monday as they searched 30 locations in Belgium, looking for individuals bringing cocaine into Europe through the port of Antwerp.
The Brussels public prosecutor’s office said they arrested Nainggolan as part of their investigation into cocaine coming from South America.
The arrest comes just days after Nainggolan, 36, made a comeback to football with second-tier club Lokeren-Temse.
He marked his return with a spectacular goal scored directly from a corner kick last weekend.
His new club said they only heard about his arrest from news reports.
“The club respects the presumption of innocence and therefore cannot comment further,” Lokeren-Temse said. “We can only confirm that the player was absent from training this morning.”
Nainggolan played 30 times for Belgium’s national team but hasn’t worn the country’s colours since March 2018. He spent most of his playing career in Italy with major clubs Roma and Inter Milan.
The midfielder has often been in trouble. In 2018, Roma fined him and dropped him from the team after he posted a video of himself appearing drunk and smoking at a New Year’s Eve party.
In 2022, his then-club Royal Antwerp suspended him after he was caught smoking an e-cigarette while sitting on the substitutes’ bench during a match.
Pictured above: Radja Nainggolan.
Source: Roma/X