Andrew Tate arrested in police raid as part of human-trafficking investigation.
Andrew Tate, a controversial former kickboxer and social media star, was detained in Romania on charges of r@pe, human trafficking, and organizing a gang.
Andrew Tate arrested in police raid as part of human-trafficking investigation
Following a raid on Thursday, a handcuffed Tate, 36, who gained notoriety this year for his sexist and misogynistic beliefs, was seen being carried out his opulent villa by police. Along with two other suspects, his younger brother Tristan, 34, was also detained, and the four were all kept for a full day in Bucharest.
Tate told the on-site cameras that “the Matrix has attacked me” as he was being escorted away by cops. He is notorious for referring to the political, media, and major tech firms as “the Matrix,” after the well-known science fiction movie from 1999.
Tate appeared to break his silence over the arrest on Friday morning when a post appeared on his Twitter page.
The British citizen, who was raised in Luton but was born in Washington, DC, is being investigated by the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT). According to reports in Romania, he and his brother are being questioned on suspicion of forming an organized crime group which targets the country’s government. It read: “The Matrix sent their agents.”
When authorities allegedly discovered two girls who claimed they were being detained against their will, the siblings were also reportedly questioned in April. The brothers were freed while the inquiry was ongoing, but on Thursday they were arrested once more in connection with a probe into r@pe, human trafficking, and the formation of an organized crime ring.
Romanian prosecutors said the Tate brothers along with two unnamed people “appear to have created an organised crime group with the purpose of recruiting, housing and exploiting women by forcing them to create pornographic content. They would have gained important sums of money.”
A spokesperson for Tate told the Daily Mirror : “We cannot provide any details at the moment regarding alleged reports that they have been detained; however, Andrew and Tristan Tate have the utmost respect for the Romanian authorities and will always assist and help in any way they can.”
Before he was banned from social media sites including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter, as well as YouTube, Tate was the most searched-for man online earlier this year. When Elon Musk finished taking control of the tech giant, Tate’s Twitter account was reinstated, and he started posting again almost away.
He got into a spat this week with environmentalist Greta Thunberg, boasting about his collection of supercars and requesting Thunberg’s email address so he could “provide a detailed list of my car collection and their corresponding tremendous emissions.” In a tweet that is currently among the most loved in history, Thunberg responded, writing: “Yes, please do enlighten me. At smalld***energy@getalife.com, send me an email.
Tate, a former kickboxing world champion, has been linked to boxing matches with the Paul brothers, Jake and Logan, as well as with KSI, another prominent figure on social media. He also made a brief appearance on Celebrity Big Brother before being expelled after video of him reportedly punching a woman surfaced. Later, the woman stated that her connection with Tate was mutually beneficial.
The older Tate brother competed in kickboxing at a high level and won four world championships before 2016. He is also thought to have fought a number of times in the MMA cage, though the precise number is debatable. He is listed as having fought twice, once as a professional against future UFC fighter Luke Barnatt, and once as an amateur on his Tapology profile.
Before making a brief move to Dubai earlier this year, Andrew and Tristan Tate were practically inseparable and had lived in Romania together for years. They were seen in the Middle East at Floyd Mayweather’s most recent exhibition fight against YouTube sensation Deji, when Andrew faced off against Jake Paul after the two had already faced off in a popular video a few days earlier.
