The controversial online influencer and misogynist Andrew Tate has been detained in Romania on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group, authorities have confirmed.
The former kickboxer and reality TV star, who has been banned from a number of social media platforms for misogynistic comments and hate speech, was arrested alongside his brother and two other suspects.
They spent Thursday night in custody and could be held for up to 24 hours, prosecutors from Romania’s anti-organised crime unit said in a statement.
Authorities said they had searched five homes as part of the investigation, and released footage of one of the raids, showing riot police entering a luxurious residence. Footage of items seized at the location showed stacks of euro notes and a handgun.
In a statement, authorities said two British citizens and two Romanians were accused of forming a gang that recruited victims by “misrepresenting their intention to enter into a marriage/cohabitation relationship and the existence of genuine feelings of love”. Later, the victims were forced to perform pornography “through physical violence and mental coercion”.
Following the communique no. 1 of 12.04.2022 and the interest shown by media representatives, the Office of Information and Public Relations within the Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism is empowered to bring the following to the attention of public opinion:
On 29.12.2022, the prosecutors of the Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism – Central Structure together with police officers from the Bucharest Organized Crime Brigade implemented 5 home search warrants in a case in which investigations under the aspect of committing the crimes of constituting an organized criminal group, human trafficking and rape. In the case it was noted that, at the beginning of 2021, 4 suspects (two British citizens and two Romanian citizens) constituted an organized criminal group with a view to committing crimes 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. Victims were recruited by British citizens by misrepresenting their intention to enter into a marriage/cohabitation relationship and the existence of genuine feelings of love (the loverboy method). 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 sexually exploited by group members by forcing them to perform demonstrations pornographic for the purpose of producing and disseminating material of such a nature through social media platforms and by submitting to the execution of a work, in a forced manner, in order to obtain important financial benefits consisting of the sums of money obtained as a result of accessing the materials by users. So far, 6 injured persons have been identified who were sexually exploited by the organized criminal group. With regard to the crime of rape, 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 sexual relations. At the headquarters of the Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism – Central Structure, 4 people who are reasonably suspected of being involved in criminal activity were taken for questioning. Following the hearings, the prosecutors of the Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism – Central Structure ordered the 4 persons to be detained for a period of 24 hours. The activities were also attended by police officers from the Ilfov Organized Crime Service and the Service for Combating Human Trafficking, as well as gendarmes from the Special Intervention Brigade of the Gendarmerie. We make it clear that during the entire criminal process, the investigated persons benefit from the procedural rights and guarantees provided by the Code of Criminal Procedure, as well as the presumption of innocence.
Happening now – atmospheric Rivers rainbombing west coast. Odds are, they are going to get more intense. The extreme case is hair raising.
Above, Park Williams of UCLA. Below, Daniel Swain of the National Center for Atmospheric Research.
3 significant atmospheric rivers will batter California over the next 10 days, putting a sizeable dent in the ongoing severe drought.
Widespread snow totals of 100+ inches are expected above 8,000 feet in the Sierra, with 6-12" of rain in NorCal and 3-6" in SoCal. pic.twitter.com/lBSUTqgkIP
One of the most epic examples of a social media self-own ever.
Toxic internet “influencer” Andrew Tate made an insulting reference to Greta Thunberg, the 19 year old Swedish climate activist, taunting her about his fleet of cars and enormous greenhouse emissions. Her epic response drew millions of likes and retweets. He didn’t know when to shut up, and responded with a childishly immature video – which featured some pizza boxes that lead police, who had been looking for him, to pick him up on human trafficking charges.
The capture of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant by Russian forces in March immediately sparked fears that the world could face another nuclear disaster on the scale of the Chernobyl explosion almost 40 years ago. The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv was quick to call the shelling of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant a “war crime.”
“We survived a night that could have stopped the story, the history of Ukraine, the history of Europe,” said Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy. An explosion at Zaporizhzhia would have equaled “six Chernobyls,” he said, referring to the Ukrainian nuclear reactor meltdown of 1986 — widely seen as the most catastrophic nuclear disaster in history, with unparalleled health, economic, and environmental impacts.
This extreme cold weather across many parts of the USA & Canada has been extremely harsh for people & wildlife. This crazy footage shows two walkers who spotted a deer with its mouth,eyes & ears completely frozen over. Brilliant effort to help! 👏🏼 Stay safe everyone pic.twitter.com/YUPoEQuTer
Above, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, a Republican, boasts about new massive solar development across his state. Below, Indiana Public Media report on the closure of a large coal fired facility, and what that means for the future.
