“I asked a drug dealer for €100,000 because I had gambling debts”
Radja Nainggolan was arrested in January during a police operation aimed at dismantling a cocaine trafficking network from South America to the port of Antwerp.
Radja Nainggolan, a former Belgian international and former player for clubs such as Roma and Inter , has publicly clarified the reasons for his arrest in January as part of an international drug trafficking investigation, of which he was later cleared.
In an interview with Belgian television program Bar Goens , the 36-year-old midfielder admitted to having asked for a loan of 100 thousand euros from Nasr-Eddine Sekkaki, a known drug dealer. Money that led investigators to believe that the player had entered the world of organized crime as a financier of the drug network. Instead, Nainggolan himself wanted to explain the nature of what had happened.
“They weren’t the ones who needed the money, it was me. People believe what they read in the papers, that I’m the ringleader of a drug case. But there’s nothing to do with drugs. I asked for the money because of gambling debts and because my accounts were frozen due to my divorce,” said Nainggolan, referring to his separation from Claudia Lai.
According to the player, the money was given in cash by Sekkaki, and was later returned through bank transfers, often disguised as “construction investments,” in amounts ranging from five to 30 thousand euros.
The midfielder, who currently plays for Lokeren-Temse in the Belgian second division, was arrested along with 18 other people in January during a police operation aimed at dismantling a cocaine trafficking network from South America to the port of Antwerp. After three hours of questioning, he was released but remains under investigation, accused of “participation in a criminal organisation”.
