The Belgian footballer Radja Nainggolan will face the correctional court over his alleged involvement in a case concerning international drug trafficking, alongside 15 other suspects.
According to the Brussels Public Prosecutor’s Office, the investigation pertains to the importation of cocaine from South America into Europe via the port of Antwerp and its distribution in Belgium.
The inquiry began in 2023 after police received information implicating a man, identified as S.A., an Assyrian Turk from Mechelen, who was reportedly orchestrating drug imports through the airport. Authorities suspect that at least 40 kilograms of cocaine were traded in Brussels in recent months.
S.A., considered the central figure in the case, is believed to reside in Dubai, while his relatives Dylan and Simon A. allegedly assisted in activities within Belgium.
Two more brothers from Mechelen, identified as M.A. and R.A., also caught investigators' attention during the probe. Both had previously worked in the Antwerp port but had allegedly transitioned to unlawful ventures afterward.
In late January 2025, the Brussels Federal Judicial Police conducted 30 raids, primarily in the Antwerp province and Brussels, as well as surrounding areas. The operations led to the arrest of 18 individuals, including Dylan and Simon A., the brothers M.A. and R.A., and a watch trader named Rafael D., who had faced prior legal trouble for selling stolen luxury watches.
Additionally, police apprehended two suspects at the Tulip Inn hotel in Antwerp: Tomas S., alleged to be the criminal organisation’s treasurer, and his girlfriend, D. In their hotel room, authorities seized 100 gold coins valued at over €116,000, €40,000 in cash, and a plastic bag containing cocaine.
During the raids, investigators confiscated €330,430 in cash, several luxury watches (including two worth approximately €360,000 each), jewellery, high-end goods, two bulletproof vests, several firearms, 2.7 kilograms of cocaine, and 14 vehicles.
Ultimately, 19 individuals were formally charged in connection with the case. Radja Nainggolan himself is not accused of drug trafficking but entered investigators’ radar when they discovered he had received over €100,000 from Nasr-Eddine Sekkaki, the younger brother of the notorious criminal Ashraf Sekkaki.
Initially, Nainggolan stated he lent the money to Sekkaki "out of joviality," but later admitted he had borrowed the sum from Sekkaki due to financial challenges brought about by a divorce.
Last Friday, the Brussels chamber of indictment decided to dismiss charges against three individuals while referring 16 others, including Nainggolan, to the correctional court.
Nainggolan, along with two other suspects, faces charges of concealing the nature, origin, location, or ownership of criminal assets.
The case also includes charges of participating in or leading a criminal organisation, drug import and export under aggravated circumstances, and the sale or distribution of illicit substances under aggravated circumstances. Nainggolan is not being prosecuted for these offences.
