Andrew Tate and his brother were arrested in Romania on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organized crime group following a raid on their property in Bucharest, according to reports.
Romanian prosecutors asked the court on Friday to extend the controversial Internet figure’s detention by 30 days, according to Reuters.
Andrew Tate was arrested in Romania, where authorities asked for an extension of his detention
On Thursday, Tate and his brother Tristan were detained for the first 24 hours along with two Romanian suspects after they said they had found six women who had been sexually exploited by the suspects.
“Organized crime prosecutors informed the judge of their rights and freedoms with the Court of Bucharest with a proposal to detain the four suspects for 30 days,” prosecutors from the anti-crime unit said. The organization said in a statement Friday.
Andrew Tate was arrested in Romania https://t.co/JDVGlxIE85
– TheShadeRoom (@TheShadeRoom) December 29, 2022
The Tate brothers have been under criminal investigation since April, according to prosecutors, who became aware of their presence in Romania after a video they posted on social media showed pizza boxes from a exclusive chain stores in this Eastern European country.
The Tate Brothers are said to have “founded an organized crime group” to “recruit and exploit women” for pornography.
Authorities claimed Tate and his brother “formed an organized crime group” to recruit and exploit women to “create pornography”.
“The four suspects… appear to have formed an organized crime group with the aim of recruiting, housing and exploiting women by forcing them to create pornography to be viewed on specialized websites with a fee,” prosecutors said in a statement late Thursday.
FREE TATE EVERYONE #AndrewTate #TristanTate #Matrix #smaldickenergy #AndrewTatearrested pic.twitter.com/gutQY1Tv7M
– Reza (@RezaRagamand) December 30, 2022
Officials added “they will make a significant amount of money” if the reported criminal activity continues.
Tate, a former kickboxing champion, holds dual British and American citizenship. On Friday, the UK Foreign Office said it had not been approached for assistance on the case.
The brothers declined to comment on Thursday, however their attorney confirmed to the outlet that they were in custody.
Thank you @elonmusk to rehabilitate your friend Andrew Tate pic.twitter.com/ZQefnUXsCk
– Daniel Uhlfelder (@DWUhlfelderLaw) December 30, 2022
Controversial internet figure arrested after pizza boxes appeared in video revealing his location
The cigar-smoking “Top G” as his followers call him has recently gained notoriety for making false comments and making hate speech, it has even been documented that women must partly responsible for being raped and they belong to men.
Tate has been banned on multiple social media platforms for such comments, however his Twitter account became active again in November after it was acquired by Elon Musk, whom he calls “legend” when returning to this platform.
On Friday, a tweet sent from Tate’s account showed he had access to his phone and internet while in custody in Romania.
Romanian authorities needed proof that Andrew Tate was in the country so they used his social media posts. His ridiculous video yesterday featured a pizza from the Romanian pizzeria chain, Jerry’s Pizza, confirming he was in the country.
This is absolutely epic. pic.twitter.com/kyz4pqegkJ
– Alejandra Caraballo (@Esqueer_) December 29, 2022
However, authorities there claimed “anyone with access to his account can post”, according to a representative of Romania’s organized crime unit, who revealed revealed that others could tweet on his behalf while in custody.
Shortly before his arrest, Tate was asked by climate activist Greta Thunberg to “stay alive” on Twitter after he told her he owned 33 cars with “huge emissions.” .
His subsequent video response was a video featuring pizza boxes from Jerry’s Pizza, an exclusive chain in Romania, thus making his presence known to the authorities.
