Portal
Andrew Tate, a controversial influencer, was arrested this Thursday, December 29, as part of an investigation into human trafficking, rape and organized crime.
INTERNATIONAL – Former kickboxer Andrew Tate, who caught the eye on Tuesday for poking fun at environmental activist Greta Thunberg on Twitter, was arrested in Romania this Thursday evening, December 29, on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and education organized crime group, Portal news agency reported.
The controversial British influencer and his brother Tristan are to remain in detention for 24 hours, prosecutors from the Organized Crime Unit said in a statement after searching their properties in Bucharest. One of the brothers’ lawyers confirmed their detention to Portal.
The two brothers have been under investigation together with two Romanian nationals since April. “The four suspects … appear to have created an organized crime group with the aim of recruiting, harboring and exploiting women by forcing them to create pornographic content to be viewed on specialized websites in return for payment,” they said told Portal prosecutors, adding that they “made large sums of money.” Six women are said to have been sexually exploited by these suspects.
Regularly banned from social networks
The Romanian Organized Crime and Terrorism Investigative Directorate issued a statement without naming the Tate brothers, saying two British nationals and two Romanian nationals were suspected of being part of a criminal group focused on human trafficking, reports the BBC. Investigators also released video of the arrest showing guns, knives and cash on display in a room.
BREAKING: Andrew Tate and brother Tristan arrested in Romania in human trafficking investigation https://t.co/b5eaZrErAb
— BNO News (@BNONews)
According to the BBC, the former kickboxer, a US-born British citizen, has been in Romania for 5 years.
The 36-year-old ex-athlete, who according to RMC has 76 wins (including 23 by KO) in 85 kickboxing fights, was notable for retiring from reality show Big Brother in 2016 after the airing of a video showing him punching shows woman with belt – a “consensual” act, he said.
Andrew Tate is often accused of misogyny and regularly banned from social networks like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram or TikTok. He was notably banned from Twitter for saying that women should “take the responsibility” if they were sexually assaulted. His account had recently been restored following the arrival of Elon Musk at the helm of Twitter.
Crucial pizza boxes?
And on this social network, he caught the eye again on Tuesday by calling environmental activist Greta Thunberg. In one post, he boasted about owning a slew of highly polluting sports cars.
“Hello Greta. I have 33 cars. My Bugatti has an 8 liter quad turbo engine with 16 valves. My two Ferrari 812 competizione have one with 6.5 l and 12 valves. That’s just the beginning, the boxer wrote and posted a photo of himself next to his Bugatti. Please give me your email address so I can send you the full list of my car collection and their respective major shows.
Greta Thunberg ironically replied: “Yes, thank you for enlightening me. Email me at [email protected]”.
Andrew Tate then responded to the young Swede in a video in which he speaks directly to the activist, who is seated at a table where he is being brought two boxes of pizza (which must be “non-recyclable”), a new one says attack on Greta Thunberg). On Twitter, some observers argue that it’s those pizzas, and particularly the name of the sign she’s selling on the boxes, that would have confirmed Andrew Tate’s whereabouts to investigators and facilitated his arrest. This information has not been confirmed by the Romanian police.
Romanian authorities needed proof that Andrew Tate was in the country so they reportedly used his social media post… https://t.co/O6zIdC6tdV
— Alejandra Caraballo (@Esqueer_)
“Romanian authorities needed proof that Andrew Tate was in the country, so they used his social media posts. His ridiculous video yesterday showed a pizza from a Romanian restaurant chain, Jerry’s Pizza, confirming he was in the country. It’s enormous”
Greta Thunberg insisted on responding to the news of the influencer’s arrest this Friday. “This is what happens when you don’t recycle your pizza boxes,” she wrote on Twitter.
This is what happens when you don’t recycle your pizza boxes
— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg)
See also on The HuffPost:
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