Nainggolan: Ex-Roma and Inter midfielder arrested on drug trafficking charges | OneFootball

Former Roma, Inter and Cagliari midfielder Radja Nainggolan has been arrested in Belgium on international drug trafficking charges, according to various reports in Belgium and Italy.

The 36-year-old was arrested on Monday morning after 30 raids were carried out in Antwerp and Brussels.

Nainggolan arrested in international drug smuggling investigation

Nainggolan is one of several suspects in an operation that concerns the alleged importation of cocaine from South America to Europe through the port of Antwerp according to a statement issued by the Brussels Prosecutor’s Office, quoted via Sky Sport Italia.

The prosecutors have informed that they will provide no further information on the matter for the time being.

Radja Nainggolan of AS Roma gestures during the Serie A match between AS Roma and ACF Fiorentina at Stadio Olimpico on February 7, 2017 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images )

Nainggolan spent over 15 years of his career playing in Italy, beginning as a youth player at Piacenza in 2005, making his senior debut the following year before going on to join Cagliari in 2010.

He is perhaps best remembered for his time with Roma, where he scored 28 Serie A goals from 138 league outings between 2014 and 2018. He would spend the following three years on Inter’s books, but spent two of those seasons back on loan with Cagliari.

Nainggolan only recently returned to Belgium to play for second division side KSC Lokeren-Temse, where he made his debut on Friday, scoring directly from a corner in a 1-0 win over Koninklijke Lierse.