Romania: The controversial online influencer Mr. Andrew Tate and his brother have been detained in Romania as part of an investigation into alleged human trafficking.

According to Romanian prosecutors, Mr. Tate and his brother, Mr. Tristian, will be held for questioning for up to 24 hours. The influencer’s house in the capital, Bucharest, was also raided.

Based on the statements from Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism, four individuals, two United Kingdom citizens and two Romanian nationals, were alleged to form a criminal group for human trafficking in Romania as well as other countries, including the UK and the United States.

“Investigators identified six alleged victims who had been sexually exploited by the group, which lured the women by expressing interest in a romantic relationship before using physical violence, intimidation, and surveillance to force them into producing pornographic material,” the directorate remarked.

Mr. Tate is a British citizen who was born in the US, fought professionally as a kickboxer, and won world titles.

Earlier, in April 2022, the Tate brothers were questioned by Romanian authorities after a tip about a US woman being held against her will, but both were released without any arrests being made.

Mr. Tate has been banned from other social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok as a result of his posts containing misogyny and sexism.

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