Controversial ex-kickboxer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan have been arrested for allegedly abducting two girls in Romania.
A handcuffed Tate, 36, who has risen to fame this year for his sexist and misogynistic views, was filmed being led from his luxury villa by police following a raid on Thursday.
The Brit, who was born in Washington DC but raised in Luton, is under investigation by the Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) and reports in Romania claim he and his brother are being questioned on suspicion of forming an organised crime group which used girls in adult videos.
The siblings were also questioned in April when police reportedly found two girls who claimed they were being held against their will. The brothers were released while the investigation continued but were detained again today, reportedly in connection with an investigation for human trafficking and rape.
A spokesperson for Tate stated : “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.”
Tate was the most-searched man on the internet earlier this year before he was banned from social media sites including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, as well as YouTube. His Twitter account was restored when Elon Musk completed his takeover of the tech giant and Tate resumed posting immediately.
He was this week involved in a spat with climate activist Greta Thunberg with Tate boasting of his supercar collection and asking for Thunberg’s email address to “send a complete list of my car collection and their respective enormous emissions”. Thunberg hit back in a tweet which is now among the most-liked in history, saying: “Yes, please do enlighten me. email me at smalldi***[email protected].”
Tate is a former kickboxing world champion and has been linked with boxing fights with YouTube brothers Jake and Logan Paul, as well as with their fellow social media star KSI. He also appeared briefly on Celebrity Big Brother before being kicked off after a footage emerged of him allegedly beating a woman. The woman later insisted her relationship with Tate was consensual.
