Controversial social media influencer Andrew Tait has broken his silence after being detained on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group. The 36-year-old, who is known for his jarring views on life, money and women, was filmed being led from his luxury home in Romania after a police raid on Thursday.
His sibling, Tristan, 34, was also arrested alongside two further suspects. All four were held for 24 hours in Bucharest, the Mirror reports. The four-time kickboxing world champion's Twitter account has since posted a message seemingly regarding his arrest, telling his 3.6million followers that "The Matrix sent their agents".
Within just minutes, the tweet had been viewed over half-a-million times by users on the social media platform, which is the only mainstream outlet that still platforms the former fighter 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).
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 Tate brothers faced similar scrutiny back in April when they were questioned after police were said to have found two females who claimed they were being held against their will at the brothers' plush home.
They were released while the investigation continued at the time. But they were once again detained on Thursday in connection with an investigation into human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group.
The pair have bragged of beginning their journey to becoming multi-millionaires by launching a webcam business in which women were paid to speak to men online, with Andrew once saying they had over 75 women working for them. Romanian prosecutors said the Tate brothers along with two 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 last night 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."
Andrew Tate became the most searched man on Google this year when his videos from years of podcast appearances talking about finances, women and lifestyle became viral for their controversial nature. He has garnered billions of views, and drawn the ire of countless social media users, who believe his rhetoric to be dangerous and misogynist.
He has been toying with a return to fighting, having negotiated for massive money boxing matches with Jake and Logan Paul, as well as YouTube star KSI. However, he has a history of issues with his eyes, and in one of his last kickboxing fights had to quit due to an injury, fighting just twice since in much lower-level bouts
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