Social media influencer Andrew Tate has reportedly been arrested in Romania based on an investigation into human trafficking and rape.
The former boxer arrested along with his brother, Tristan, and two other suspects while raiding their home in the capital, Bucharest.
“The 4 Array-suspects. . . appear to have created an organized criminal organization with the aim of recruiting, harboring and exploiting women by forcing them to create pornographic content intended to be viewed on specialized programs in exchange for a fee,” prosecutors said, according to Reuters. .
A lawyer for the brothers reportedly showed their detention.
Romania’s Directorate of Organized Crime and Terrorism Investigations (DIICOT) issued a statement but called Tates, saying two British citizens and two Romanian citizens were suspected of being members of a criminal organization targeting human trafficking.
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According to the organization, six other people were known to have been injured as part of the investigation, one of whom allegedly sexually assaulted with violence in March.
Some of the suspects allegedly used the “child lover” trafficking approach, which involves a man luring a victim to a date to sexually exploit her later, DIICOT said.
The victims were then transported and housed in apartment buildings in Ilfov County, surrounding Bucharest, where they were allegedly forced to create pornographic content.
DIICOT also released a video of the raid, with guns, knives appearing and demonstrating in a room.
In a tweet posted later Friday that appeared to recommend he had been released, Tate said: “The matrix sent their agents. “
The message is the latest in a series of “matrice” references made by Tate, apparently to the film franchise depicting a fictional world in which humanity is trapped in a simulated reality.
The concept of the films has been co-opted by several far-right conspiracy theorists and men’s rights teams in recent years.
Since retiring from fighting sports, Tate, 36, has attracted him for his misogynistic comments on social media.
He gained notoriety in 2016 when he said goodbye to British TV show Big Brother because of a video that appeared to show him beating a woman with a belt.
In 2017, he was banned from Twitter for saying women “take responsibility” for being sexually assaulted, but was reinstated last month.
Earlier in the week, Tate sparked a war of words with climate activist Greta Thunberg, 19, when she shared a photo of her estate next to a Bugatti and claimed she had 33 cars.
“Please provide your email address so I can send you a full list of my car collection and their respective mass emissions,” he tweeted, tagging Thunberg.
She replied, “Yes, please enlighten me. Write to me at smalldickenergy@getalife. com.
In the video, Tate said, “I’m not mad at Greta because she doesn’t realize she’s been programmed, she doesn’t realize she’s a Matrix slave, she thinks she’s okay. “
Tate and his brother have been under investigation since April along with two Romanian nationals.
Footage circulated widely on social media Thursday appears to show Tate and his brother being taken from a luxury villa.
He moved to Romania years ago.
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