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Influencer Andrew Tate arrested: Spat with Greta Thunberg led cops to his door

Author
NZ Herald,
Publish Date
Fri, 30 Dec 2022, 1:42PM

Influencer Andrew Tate arrested: Spat with Greta Thunberg led cops to his door

Author
NZ Herald,
Publish Date
Fri, 30 Dec 2022, 1:42PM

Controversial influencer Andrew Tate has reportedly been arrested alongside his brother Tristan in Romania over allegations of human trafficking and rape.

Romanian media reported that police raided the brothers’ villa in the town of Voluntari, north of the capital Bucharest, and took both men into custody - after Andrew Tate left a clue to his location online following a spat with climate activist Greta Thunberg

Romanian outlet Libertatea said the brothers will be questioned by the country’s organised crime unit, DIICOT.

The Tates’ home was previously raided over similar allegations in April.

In a statement, police said they raided five homes in connection to an investigation into an organised criminal group, international human trafficking, and rape.

Police did not name the suspects but said that “two British citizens” recruited women who were moved to buildings in and around Voluntari and subjected to “physical violence and mental coercion” and forced to perform in pornographic videos, which were later distributed online.

It has been previously reported that the Tates set up a webcam business in Romania and Andrew Tate has bragged that “40 per cent” of the reason he moved to the country was to avoid police scrutiny.

Video released by DIICOT shows police raiding properties and shows collections of vehicles, weapons, and cash.

Details, such as the identity of suspects, appear to have been deliberately obscured.

 ‘Small d*** energy’

It is believed that cops moved on the Tates after Andrew Tate posed with a Romanian takeaway pizza box in a video he posted to climate activist Greta Thunberg.

The pair sparred online after Tate bragged about his car collection.

Tate took it upon himself to tweet in Thunberg’s direction – boasting of his car collection in a swipe at her environmental crusade.

“I have 33 cars,” he said.

“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.”

Greta Thunberg brought Andrew Tate down to size. Photo / Getty Images/FileGreta Thunberg brought Andrew Tate down to size. Photo / Getty Images/File

After stewing on it for over a day, Thunberg responded late on Wednesday night.

“Yes, please do enlighten me. Email me at smalld**[email protected],” she replied to Tate.

“How dare you?!,” a humiliated Tate later wrote back, mocking her iconic catchphrase.

Oops. Photo / Twitter/Andrew TateOops. Photo / Twitter/Andrew Tate

Then the self-described ‘Top G’ appears to have made a serious error - and recorded a video yesterday that he sent to Thunberg, that showed him posing with a Romanian takeaway pizza box.

Today the cops came knocking.

Police raid a property connected to the investigation. Photo / DIICOTPolice raid a property connected to the investigation. Photo / DIICOT

Police speak to a man outside one of the raided properties. Photo / DIICOTPolice speak to a man outside one of the raided properties. Photo / DIICOT

Tate has styled himself as a self-help guru, offering his mostly male fans a recipe for making money and “pulling” women.

But his critics accused him of being an “extreme misogynist” and calls to ban him over videos spreading “rape culture” began to emerge.

In one clip shared on TikTok, Tate argues women “belong in the home”, “can’t drive”, and are a “man’s property”.

Another, arguably one of his most troubling statements, sees Tate declare that while it was “not okay” for a woman to be raped, if she was, then she “must bear some responsibility”.

Long before his rise to social media fame, Tate’s views on women have been clear.

He was evicted from the UK Big Brother house in 2016 when a video emerged of him hitting a woman with a belt; a second, released shortly after, showed him telling a different woman to count the bruises he apparently caused her.

Both Tate and the women denied any abuse occurred, and said the clips showed consensual sex.

In 2017, he was charged by British police with 11 cases regarding sexual assault.

- Additional reporting, news.com.au

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