Former kickboxer Andrew Tate and his brother, Tristan, have been arrested for allegedly abducting two girls in Romania, Daily Mirror reports.
A handcuffed Tate, 36, who rose 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.
Our correspondent gathered that the arrest followed a Twitter squabble between him and climate change activist, Greta Thunberg, after he posed alongside a Romanian pizza box, which may have inadvertently revealed his location to Romanian authorities.
Thunberg’s tweet has now become one of the top 20 most liked tweets of all time with 2.9 million likes currently at number 17. It could hit the top 10 by the weekend.
Tate, 36, reportedly had his villa searched by police on Thursday, and was detained for 24 hours alongside his brother Tristan as part of the probe.
The self-described misogynist and his brother will face questioning by the country’s organised crime and terrorism team as part of the probe into alleged sex crimes and human trafficking offences.
A spokesperson for Tate told DailyMail.com, “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.”
A Chicago-born Tate has been branded ‘the king of toxic masculinity’ for his online diatribes against women – which have gained him notoriety and millions of followers in the last year.
Romanian outlet Libertatea first reported the raids, citing information from sources that the Tate brothers were suspected of running an organised criminal group that coerced women into making adult videos.
Andrew Tate’s home in the Eastern European nation was also raided on April 11 this year as part of a human trafficking investigation.
Following the April raid, which was reportedly prompted by a complaint from a United State citizen to the American Embassy in Bucharest, the Tate brothers were detained for several hours for questioning but ultimately released as the investigation continued.
Andrew Tate has previously boasted to his followers that ’40 per cent’ of the reason he moved to Romania was because the police were less likely to pursue any sexual assault allegation against him.
In a press release on Thursday, DIICOT – Romania’s police, crime, and investigation unit said that they had raided five homes after obtaining search warrants.
The warrants were issued in connection to an ongoing investigation into an organised criminal group, international human trafficking, and rape.
