Andrew Tate detained in Romania in rape, human trafficking investigation

Andrew Tate, a controversial social media personality and former professional kickboxer, has been detained in Romania as part of a rape and human trafficking investigation. And a pizza delivery is fueling rumors of what led to Tate’s arrest.

Tate was seen being dragged out of his house by police Thursday evening, along with his brother and two other people. Romanian authorities said “the four suspects … appear to have created an organized crime group with the purpose of recruiting, housing and exploiting women by forcing them to create pornographic content meant to be seen on specialized websites for a cost”.

Prosecutors said Tate and his brother have been under criminal investigation since April. But what led to this raid is in question and follows an interesting sequence of events that has played out on social media.

Earlier this week, Tate tagged 19-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg on Twitter, mocking her calls for climate awareness.

“Please provide your email address so I can send a complete list of my car collection and their respective enormous emissions,” Tate tweeted.

When Thunberg responded with an insult, Tate replied with a 2-minute choreographed video where he asked someone to hand him pizza and to make sure the boxes were “not recycled”.

One day later, authorities showed up at his doorstep. Many social media users pointed to the local branding on the pizza box featured in Tate’s video as a clue that may have given away his location. Though Romanian authorities said the pizza delivery did not lead to the arrest, that didn’t stop Greta Thunberg.

“This is what happens when you don’t recycle your pizza boxes,” Thunberg tweeted. 

In Romania, people are innocent until proven guilty. A spokesperson for Tate told the Daily Mirror that he could not provide details relating to the arrest.

“Andrew and Tristan Tate have the utmost respect for the Romanian authorities and will always assist and help in any way they can,” the spokesman said.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.