Former Belgium star Nainggollan detained in drug smuggling case
Kyiv • UNN
Raja Nainggollan was arrested as part of an investigation into drug smuggling through the port of Antwerp. The footballer is in a temporary holding cell, and his club, Lokeren, confirmed that he was absent from training.
On Monday, former Belgian national team player Raj Nainggolan, who played for Roma and Inter Milan, was taken into custody as part of an investigation into cocaine smuggling through the port of Antwerp.
This is reported by the BBC with reference to the Belgian media, UNN reports.
Details
According to the newspaper, former Belgian national team player Raja Nainggolan was taken into custody as part of an investigation into the smuggling of cocaine through the port of Antwerp. In addition to the famous footballer, several other people were detained during police raids that took place across the country in the morning.
The investigation concerns the alleged importation of cocaine from South America to Europe through the port of Antwerp and its distribution in Belgium
The prosecutor's office also confirmed that the football player is in a temporary detention center.
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In January of this year, 36-year-old Raja Nainggollan moved from Indonesian Bhayangkara Solo to Belgian second division club Lokeren, for which he played one match and scored one goal. The club itself said that it learned about Nainggollan's detention through the media.
The club respects the presumption of innocence and therefore cannot comment further. We can only confirm that the player was absent from training this morning. The club now wants to focus solely on tomorrow's important match against KAS Eipen. Raja Nainggollan is under no circumstances eligible to play in this match
It should be noted that this is not the first time Nainggolan has been involved in a scandal. In particular, in October 2022, the footballer was suspended from Antwerp for an indefinite period after being arrested for driving with an expired driver's license and then for smoking an e-cigarette on the bench.
On New Year's Eve from 2017 to 2018, Raja posted a video on his Instagram in which he drank alcohol, smoked, and used foul language live on air. He later apologized for this.
The footballer also admitted that he smokes, which is why the then Belgian national team coach Roberto Martinez did not call the midfielder to the national team.
I have never hidden the fact that I have this habit. I smoke and I'm not ashamed of it. I know I have to set a good example, I have children... But I'm just a football player, I do my job. Everyone knows I smoke, you can't hide it, but I'm not ashamed of it. I was disappointed that I was not called up after a good game at the Euros. I always say what I think honestly, so I never hid my disappointment. The coach probably had reasons for not calling me up, but I'm moving on and looking forward
In 2018, the Belgian was spotted in the Milan nightclub La Casa Loca in the company of the famous Italian host Fabrizio Corona. One of the fans recognized Nainggolan and started filming him. The fan reminded the player that he would soon have a match, after which the Belgian showed his middle finger to the camera lens.
In 2014, while playing for Italian club Cagliari, Nainggolan was taken to the police for violence against his wife Claudia. During the conflict, in front of his child, the footballer hit his wife, which led to her hospitalization.
