Andrew Tate has been arrested in Romania over human trafficking case

Andrew Tate
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Trigger warning – article contains themes of sexual assault and violence.

Andrew Tate has been detained in Romania over an investigation into human trafficking and rape. 

The controversial far-right influencer and his brother Tristan Tate have reportedly been under investigation since April along with two Romanian nationals. Last night, the Tate brothers had their house raided in Bucharest, Romania, and according to Reuters were both detained.

"The four suspects... appear to have created an organised crime group with the purpose of recruiting, housing and exploiting women by forcing them to create pornographic content meant to be seen on specialised websites for a cost," prosecutors announced, via Reuters new agency. 

Tate's arrest comes after a Twitter war with Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg, where it is thought that he accidentally gave away his location, providing authorities with the information they needed to arrest him.

"Hello Greta Thunberg. I have 33 cars," read Tate's initial message, bragging publicly about the emissions of his multiple cars. "My Bugatti has a w16 8.0L quad turbo. My TWO Ferrari 812 competizione have 6.5L v12s. This is just the start. Please provide your email address so I can send a complete list of my car collection and their respective enormous emissions."

Thunberg was quick to clap back, publicly responding: "Yes, please do enlighten me. Email me at smalldickenergy@getalife.com."

Tate's next attack was in video form, but it is thought that this video could have actually led to his arrest.

According to reports, Romanian authorities needed proof that Tate was in the country in order to arrest him, and this was given to them in Tate's video, as he used a stack of pizza boxes from Romanian chain, Jerry's, as a prop.

24 hours later, Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan were detained.

Who is Andrew Tate?

Andrew Tate is a controversial influencer, who rose to fame after a brief stint on Big Brother in 2016. He was forced to leave the show after a video surfaced of him beating a woman with a belt, which Tate has since said was consensual.

He has since become an online influencer for the "manosphere", renowned as an "extreme misogynist".

Tate has previously said that women are a man's property, should not drive and belong in the home, and insists that he only dates women aged 18-19 so that he can "make an imprint" on them.

His videos, accused of promoting hate and radicalising men and boys to cause offline violence, saw the 36-year-old banned from social media.

“It’s bang out the machete, boom in her face and grip her by the neck. Shut up bitch,” he said in one video, explaining how he would attack a woman who accused him of cheating.

Tate is currently being detained in Romania.

We will continue to update this story.

Jenny Proudfoot
Features Editor

Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. She has worked at Marie Claire UK for seven years, rising from intern to Features Editor and is now the most published Marie Claire writer of all time. She was made a 30 under 30 award-winner last year and named a rising star in journalism by the Professional Publishers Association.