Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan’s home was raided by Romanian authorities, specifically the Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism, on the morning of December 29, reports Romanian media and the two have reportedly been taken into custody.
UPDATE Friday, December 30: Prosecutors handling the case against Andrew Tate requested that the court in Bucharest extend the defendant’s detention by 30 days. This came after both Tate brothers were arrested on suspicion of human trafficking, rape, and forming an organized crime group.
A December 29 report, initially from Romanian outlet Libertatea claimed that Andrew Tate’s home in Pipera had been raided by Romanian police in relation to the abduction of two girls. Now, Tate and his brother have both been taken into custody.
The raid is said to be carried out by DIICOT, the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism in Bucharest.
As the news broke, a clip emerged showing Tate being led out of the villa in police custody.
Tate was arrested on the suspicion of human trafficking, rape, and organized crime relating to a “cam girl business”, prosecutors told Reuters.
DIICOT, according to a translation, said an investigation began at the start of 2021 into a human trafficking ring in the country. The ring allegedly misled victims into marriage before moving them to Romania and “sexually exploiting” them using “physical violence and mental coercion.”
They have since executed five search warrants on December 29. Four people were detained for 24 hours. No names were released.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan have been reportedly arrested by Romanian authorities in human trafficking investigation pic.twitter.com/duoUUmcRDE
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) December 29, 2022
Romanian newspaper Gândul has reported that Andrew’s clash with climate activist Greta Thunberg played a key part in the authorities confirming that both brothers were in the country at the same time.
The current belief is a pizza box from a local Romanian chain appearing in his response video to the young woman was enough of a giveaway for the mobilizing team to take action.
Update, December 30: Andrew Tate has now spoken out on social media, tweeting that the “agents of the matrix” came for him.
Back in April 2022, Andrew Tate faced allegations of human trafficking in Romania, the country in which he resides.
However, Tate stated that the issues arose from a swatting incident: “I was not arrested. What happened is I suffered from a case of swatting. It’s very popular with people who are large on the internet.
“[Police] turned up, they investigated, they realized nobody was in the house against their will, there was no crime committed […] we had to go to the police station for 45 minutes for pieces of paper, we filled them in and we were let go.”