Belgian police have arrested former midfielder Radja Nainggolan on suspicion of cocaine trafficking.

Former Roma and Belgium midfielder Radja Nainggolan has been arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking.

The 36-year-old, who has 30 caps for his country and also played for Inter and Cagliari, was arrested by police this morning as part of an investigation into the movement of cocaine from South America to Europe.

A statement from the Brussels Public Prosecutor’s Office said: “The Brussels Federal Judicial Police searched 30 homes on Monday morning as part of the Organized Crime Department file of the Brussels Public Prosecutor’s Office.

He added: “Home inspections were carried out mainly in the province of Antwerp and Brussels.

“The investigation concerns alleged incidents of cocaine being imported from South America to Europe via the port of Antwerp and its redistribution in Belgium.

“We can confirm that footballer RN (Radja Nainggolan) has been deprived of his liberty in the context of this case. Since investigations are currently ongoing, and taking into account the principle of the presumption of innocence, no further comment will be made at this stage.”

𝙍𝘼𝘿𝙅𝘼 𝙄𝙎 𝙃𝙀𝙍𝙀. ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/BmAo5ndBgR

– KSC Lokeren – Timsi (@KSCLokeren) January 22, 2025

Coming out of retirement but straight into trouble

Nainggolan recently came out of retirement to sign for Ligue 2 side Lokeren-Thmes, scoring on his debut in a 1-1 draw with Lierse on Friday.

His club said in a statement today: “As the investigation is still ongoing, the police 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.

A brilliant career in Serie A

Nainggolan made his name as a teenager at Piacenza before joining Cagliari in 2010, where he made his debut in the defeat to Inter.

His combative displays for the Sardinian side led to him being linked with a host of Italian clubs and he joined Roma, initially on loan, in January 2014 before the switch was made permanent later that summer.

This was followed by a £32m move to Inter in June 2018, a month after he 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 Indonesia’s Bhayankara followed before Nainggolan retired and re-emerged, signing for Lokeren last week.