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On December 30, controversial internet personality Andrew Tate was arrested after the Romanian organized crime unit raided his home. A clip featuring him and his brother, Tristan Tate, went viral on Twitter:
According to reports, Andrew Tate was arrested on suspicion of human trafficking, r*pe, and organized crime in connection with the cam girl business:
Exploring why Andrew Tate was arrested
On December 29, 2022, the Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) in Romania issued an official statement regarding Andrew Tate's arrest.
According to the press release, the body issued five home-search warrants in connection with the investigation of crimes such as constituting an organized criminal group, human trafficking, and r*pe.
The four suspects, two of British origin and two Romanian citizens, comprised of a criminal group in Romania:
"In the case, it was noted that, at the beginning of 2021, 4 suspects (two British citizens and two Romanian citizens) constituted a criminal group organized in order to commit on the territory of Romania, but also of other countries, such as the United States of America and Great Britain, of the crime of human trafficking."
DIICOT detailed the allegations in the following section, stating that victims recruited by British citizens (Andrew Tate and Tristen Tate) were housed in buildings where they used "physical violence and mental coercion":
"They were later transported and housed in buildings in Ilfov county where, by exercising acts of physical violence and mental coercion (through intimidation, constant surveillance, control, and invoking alleged debts), they were s*xually exploited by group members by forcing them to perform demonstrations p**nographic for the purpose of producing and disseminating through social media platforms material having such a character and by submitting to the execution of a forced labor."
Six victims who were s*xually exploited by the criminal group have been identified. DIICOT mentioned an incident in March 2022, when a person was r*ped on two separate occasions:
"So far, 6 injured persons have been identified who were s*xually exploited by the organized criminal group. With regard to the crime of r*pe, it was noted that, in March 2022, an injured person was forced, on two different occasions, by a suspect through the exercise of physical violence and psychological pressure to have s*xual relations."
Readers can view the press release here.
Social media reacts to the Tate brothers' arrest
Andrew Tate's arrest became a trending topic on various social media platforms. Hundreds of thousands of Twitter users shared their thoughts on the matter, and here are some relevant ones:
A discussion thread about the arrest gained a lot of traction on the r/LivestreamFail subreddit. Here's what the Reddit community had to say:
Earlier this year, Tate was de-platformed from social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.
However, after five years, he was unbanned from Twitter. His follower count skyrocketed as his official handle attracted over a million followers in 24 hours.
