Controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate has been held back in Romania for investigation into human trafficking, rape, and organized crime.
Tate’s house was raided in Bucharest, Romania’s capital. He was detained along with his brother Tristan. The brothers’ lawyer confirmed their arrest, said news agency Reuters. They will be in police custody for 24 hours along with two Romanian suspects, prosecutors said in a statement after raiding their properties in Bucharest.
The kickboxer in the past, Tate gained popularity in 2016 when he was chucked out from British TV show Big Brother involving a video which apparently showed him attacking a woman.
However, after being removed from the show, Tate claimed the video was interfered with, calling it “a total lie trying to make me look bad”.
He later gain ill repute online for sexist comments and offensive statements. Twitter banned him for his statement on women in which he advised them to “bear responsibility” for being sexually assaulted. He has been banned from other social media platforms as well. He has since been reinstated.
“The four suspects … appear to have created an organised crime group with the purpose of recruiting, housing and exploiting women by forcing them to create pornographic content meant to be seen on specialised websites for a cost,” prosecutors said.
“They would have gained important sums of money.”
The Tate brothers are being investigated for crimes since April.
Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) issued a statement not directly taking the brothers’ name and called them “suspects” of carrying out crimes.
The DIICOT released a video of the raid, showing guns, knives, and money being kept in one room.
Tate shifted to Romania five years ago.
Tate is a United States born British citizen who was a professional kickboxer and won world titles.
The BBC’s disinformation and social media correspondent Marianna Spring stated earlier this year that his writing has “raised worries about the real-world effect it could have.” His posts on other online forums advocate bigotry, target women, and receive millions of views.
He has lately been permitted to return to Twitter with former US President Donald Trump following Elon Musk’s takeover.
Mr. Tate and climate activist Greta Thunberg got into a Twitter argument on Wednesday.
