Ex-NFLer Robert Nkemdiche Busted Allegedly Smuggling Groceries, Arrested On Warrants

Former NFL first-round pick Robert Nkemdiche found himself in some trouble last week ... when cops say they saw him walking out of a store with groceries in his pants ... but it was past run-ins with the law that got him put in the slammer.

According to a police report, obtained by TMZ Sports, the former Arizona Cardinals' defensive tackle was exiting a Kroger in Georgia last week ... when an officer conducting a business area check says they observed the 31-year-old with "many large objects, square and rectangular shapes, consistent with concealed grocery items, inside his sweatpants."

The officer says they then called for backup as Nkemdiche walked to a gas station.

According to the report, the cop then made contact with 6'3", 300-pound Nkemdiche and immediately placed him in double-locked handcuffs.

The officer stated Nkemdiche no longer had items in his pants ... but says frozen grocery items, candy bars and almond milk were found after a search of the Kroger and gas station parking lots.

Police then returned to Kroger to ask if the items were stolen ... but the cop said a rep for the store said they did not want to press charges over the goods, but "did want Nkemdiche criminally trespassed from the establishment."

Officers say they then ran Nkemdiche's name and found multiple warrants in several states in the system ... including three in Georgia. The officer says county officials asked the officer to place a hold on Nkemdiche.

The former Ole Miss star was ultimately taken to jail and booked.

Nkemdiche was previously busted for drug possession in 2015 ... after an incident where he allegedly fell from a fourth-floor window of a hotel.