Investigators in Romania reportedly used the social media activity of controversial former kickboxing world champion Andrew Tate to find his location prior to his arrest.
The former fighter, 36 one of four people arrested on Thursday in connection with an investigation to alleged human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group by police in Romania, with his brother Tristan, 34, also held for questioning along with two other pals. Tristan is a former kickboxing champion, holding the European title on a number of occasions.
And reports in Romania are claiming that the police used recent social media posts from the Tate brothers to confirm their location ahead of a raid on their mansion. Fans on social media have shared a speculative theory that his recent response video to Greta Thunberg, in which he receives pizza boxes from a Romanian restaurant, was what gave him away.
But both he and Tristan had been posting frequently on social media over the past few days, with the younger sibling publicly considering plans to hold a New Years Eve party at their plush home in a recent Instagram story post. There has been no clear evidence that Tate's post to Thunberg is the catalyst for the pair being found at this time.
Footage emerged yesterday of a handcuffed Andrew Tate, who rose to fame this year for his controversial videos which have been called misogynist and dangerous, was filmed being led from his luxury villa by police following a raid. His younger brother Tristan was also arrested along with two further suspects, with all four being held for 24 hours in Bucharest.
Tate, born in Washington DC but raised in Luton, is under investigation by the Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) and reports say that he and his brother are being questioned on suspicion of forming an organised crime group which used girls in adult videos.
Romanian prosecutors said the kickboxer brothers along with two other unnamed people "appear to have created an organised crime group with the purpose of recruiting, housing and exploiting women by forcing them to create pornographic content. They would have gained important sums of money."
A spokesperson for Tate told the Daily Mirror : "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."
This is not the Tate brothers' first time dealing with police for these issues; they were questioned in April when police reportedly found two girls who claimed they were being held against their will. They were both released while the investigation continued, and detained again on Thursday in connection with an investigation into human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group.
The elder Tate brother, who is the more famous of the two, rose to prominence this year with his controversial videos after years of having a niche online fanbase. He became the most searched person on Google, and was banned from all social media platforms during a tumultuous 12 months, recently returning to Twitter after Elon Musk returned to the platform.
