Andrew Tate arrested in alleged human trafficking probe in Romania

Andrew Tate (pictured center) was last night taken into police custody in Romania as part of a human trafficking probe after cops raided his luxury home. The prolific social media personality, 36, was detained for 24 hours alongside his brother Tristan (pictured back right) as part of the investigation, Romanian prosecutors said following raids on his villa and other properties near Bucharest.

Prosecutors said the brothers are suspects in an alleged organized crime ring that sexually exploited at least six women, who were recruited, housed and forced into performing pornographic videos for sale online. They said in their warrant: ‘With regard to the crime of sexual assault, it was noted that, in March 2022, an injured person was forced, on two different occasions, by a suspect through the exercise of physical violence and psychological pressure to have sexual relations.’ It is not known which suspect is accused.

Self-described misogynist Tate and his brother will face questioning by the country’s organized crime and terrorism team as part of the probe. It’s believed that his online spat with Greta Thunberg contributed to the timing of the raids – which came a day after he taunted the climate activist while posing alongside a Romanian pizza box, potentially confirming his location to authorities (pictured). A spokesman for Tate told DailyMail.com: ‘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.’

The U.S. State Department and FBI did not immediately respond to requests for comment last night. Chicago-born Tate, whose full name is Emory Andrew Tate III, has been branded ‘the king of toxic masculinity’ for his online diatribes against women – which have gained him notoriety and millions of followers.

Tate, a former pro kickboxer, first came to prominence when he appeared on the UK reality show Big Brother in 2016, but was ejected from the series after a video surfaced online which appeared to show him striking a woman with a belt – a clip he claimed had been edited. Tate’s home in the Eastern European nation was also raided on April 11 this year as part of a human trafficking investigation.

Following that raid, which was reportedly prompted by a complaint from a U.S. citizen to the American Embassy in Bucharest, the Tate brothers were detained for several hours for questioning but ultimately released as the investigation continued. Tate has previously boasted to his followers that ’40 per cent’ of the reason he moved to Romania was because the police were less likely to pursue any sexual assault allegations against him.

In a press release on Thursday, DIICOT – Romania’s police, crime, and investigation unit – said that they had raided five homes after obtaining search warrants. The raids were executed as part of an ongoing investigation into an organized criminal group, international human trafficking, and rape. Pictured: Images from the raid also showed what appeared to be an elaborate home security system and a gorilla made of U.S. currency.

The police statement did not name the suspects at the center of the probe, but said they included two British citizens and two Romanian citizens. Pictured: Images from the raid showed police seizing guns, electronics, and edged weapons.

The police statement did not name the suspects at the center of the probe, but said they included two British citizens and two Romanian citizens. Andrew and Tristan Tate are both dual-citizens of the U.S. and UK. The brothers were born to an American father and British mother, and grew up partially in both countries.

Police said the two British suspects lured female victims using the ‘loverboy method,’ falsely professing their love and intention to marry them. The victims were then transported to buildings in Ilfov county on the outskirts of Bucharest, where they were ‘sexually exploited’ and forced to perform in sexually explicit videos for dissemination on social media, the police statement said.

Cops say the suspects used ‘physical violence and mental coercion’ to force the women to comply with their demands, including ‘intimidation, constant surveillance, control and invoking alleged debts.’

Police say a total of six victims have so far come forward claiming they were sexually exploited by the organized criminal group. Cops did not name the men whose homes were raided in Romania, but images from the raids appeared to clearly match scenes from Tate’s home previously posted on social media. Police said the four suspects were taken for questioning yesterday, and police ordered the suspects to be detained for a period of 24 hours. Pictured: Andrew Tate is escorted by police officers outside the headquarters of the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism in Bucharest.

According to local press reports, the property of a former Romanian policewoman was also raided on Thursday, and she was taken in for questioning as part of the probe. Born in Chicago, Illinois, but brought up in Luton, England, Tate has garnered a dubious reputation over his various business activities.

Together with his brother Tristan, he allegedly set up a webcam business in Romania in which young models told ‘sad’ stories to unsuspecting male viewers. Despite previously saying that the site was ‘a total scam,’ Tate claims to have made millions from it.

This week Tate found himself in hot water after getting into a Twitter spat with eco-activist Greta Thunberg (pictured). He called her out – and shared a photo of himself filling up his Bugatti supercar, asking her to send him her email address so he could detail the ‘enormous emissions’ his gas-guzzling performance cars spewed out.

Tate tweeted on Tuesday: ‘Hello Greta Thunberg. I have 33 cars. My Bugatti has a w16 8.0L quad-turbo. My TWO Ferrari 812 competizione have 6.5L v12s. This is just the start. Please provide your email address so I can send a complete list of my car collection and its enormous emissions.’ Miss Thunberg issued a brutal comeback in a tweet to her 4.9million followers yesterday, saying: ‘Yes, please do enlighten me. Email me at smalld[…][email protected].’ Tate had been banned from Twitter since 2017 until Elon Musk allowed him back on the platform last month.