Andrew Tate and his brother taken into custody for human trafficking

New Delhi: The arrest was related to severe accusations of rape and human trafficking against Tate, who is currently blocked on Instagram and YouTube due to incidents of hate speech.

Andrew Tate, a controversial internet personality and former kickboxer, was detained in Romania on Thursday (December 29), along with his brother, on suspicion of human trafficking, rape, and organising a criminal organisation, one day after engaging in a Twitter argument with climate activist Greta Thunberg.

Tate has previously been accused of using hate speech and anti-women slurs. According to Reuters, which cited a statement from the nation's anti-organized crime unit that searched their Bucharest houses during a raid, his brother Tristan will also be arrested for 24 hours along with two Romanian suspects.

According to Reuters, a criminal investigation into the Tate brothers has been ongoing since April. Despite their lawyer's confirmation that they had been held, they declined to speak.

The prosecutors said “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, they would have gained important sums of money.”

Moreover, Six women who had been sexually exploited by the suspects were discovered by the authorities.

Who is the infamous Andrew Tate?

Tate, also known as King Cobra, operates the website CobraTate, which describes him as a 36-year-old American-British kickboxer. His accomplishments include holding the ISKA Kickboxing world championship title, and he also serves as a commentator for the Romanian Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotion firm Real Xtreme Fighting.

Tate participated in the UK reality series Big Brother in 2016, but was fired after a video surfaced showing him attempting to strike a woman, which he disputed.