Andrew Tate Arrest Videos Go Viral as Romanian Police Raid His House; Did Pizza Box Really Gave His Location Away?

Controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate was arrested by Romanian authorities as part of a human trafficking and rape investigation following his online feud with young climate activist Greta Thunberg.

The former kickboxer was detained by local law enforcement alongside his brother, Tristan Tate, and two other suspects. Meanwhile, police officers raided the social media influencer's home, which was located in the country's capital, Bucharest.

Andrew Tate's Arrest in Romania

Prosecutors said that the four suspects appeared to have created an organized crime group with the objective of recruiting, housing, and exploiting women. They allegedly forced the female victims to create pornographic content that was meant to be seen on specialized websites for a cost.

Authorities said that they found six women who were sexually exploited by the suspects. Tate is known for being banned from various social media platforms for his misogynistic comments and hate speech, while his brother will be locked up for 24 hours, as per the Independent.

Many online users believe that Romanian law enforcement might have never pinpointed Tate's location were it not for his clap-back video to Thunberg on Twitter. The alleged footage is believed to have helped police find the suspect's location and immediately seize him.

The country's Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) has been waiting for nine months for the Tate brothers to return to Romania. Local officials then mobilized forces and descended onto the suspects' villa after discovering that they were, in fact, within the country, due to their social media posts.

On Friday, a Romanian court agreed to extend the detention of Tate by 30 days. The extension of the detention was petitioned by prosecutors to the court. The main suspect's lawyer, Eugen Constantin Vidineac, said that from their perspective, there were no grounds or basis for taking the drastic preventive measure.

The U.S. State Department confirmed that it was aware of the case surrounding Tate, who was born in the United States and holds both U.S. and British nationality. On the other hand, Britain's Foreign Office said that it had not been approached for consular assistance over the controversy.

Did Pizza Boxes Assist Law Enforcement?

According to Reuters, Tate's fame stemmed from his fan base of mostly young men who supported his ultra-masculine, luxurious lifestyle. After he was banned from social media platforms, his Twitter account became active again after Tesla CEO Elon Musk gained control of the social media company.

In one of the suspect's tweets after getting back onto the platform, he said that he was flying to California to tell Musk that he was a "legend." The week before Tate's arrest, Thunberg told him to "get a life" after he told her that he owned 33 cars with "enormous emissions."

After online users suspected that the pizza box helped law enforcement find Tate's location, Thunberg posted on Twitter, saying that "this is what happens when you don't recycle your pizza boxes."

Despite many people believing and pushing the idea that the pizza seen in one of Tate's posts assisted officials in finding the suspect's location, a spokesperson for DIICOT said that the pizza boxes did not play a role in the detentions, CNN reported.

Tags

Arrest, Romania