Jake Massey
Andrew Tate is being detained in Romania for 30 days - though it seems he'll still be tweeting.
Authorities raided the home of the former kickboxer and his brother in Tristan in Pipera, at the northern edge of Bucharest, and it was confirmed yesterday (Friday 30 December) they will be held for a month.
The Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) - which was in charge of the arrest operation - said it is investigating alleged human trafficking, rape and the formation of an organised criminal group.
The Tates' lawyer, Eugen Vidineac, told the BBC they would appeal against the detention and had maintained their right to silence. However, Andrew has not been silent on Twitter.
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Following his arrest, the 36-year-old tweeted: "The Matrix sent their agents."
And more recently, he added: "The Matrix will only tell you what the Matrix needs you to believe."
If you're wondering why he's banging on about the 1999 film, he does this quite a lot. The concept of the film has been co-opted by far-right conspiracy theorists and men's rights groups in recent years, and Tate encourages people to 'take the red pill' and follow his advice as a way to get rich.
Responding to his latest tweet, one person wrote: "You're arrested -- yet able to tweet."
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Another asked: "Are you still in jail or is someone tweeting for you? Like this to confirm you are out of detainment."
While another asked: "How are you still tweeting? I thought they put you in jail for 30 days?"
It's not clear how exactly he's tweeting, though he may have scheduled tweets, or somebody sending tweets on his behalf.
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Atena Observer reported that authorities were at his property for up to five hours during the raid, and the operation is being headed up by the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT).
DIICOT released a statement, saying: "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."
According to DIICOT, six people have been identified in relation to the investigation, one of whom is said to have been violently sexually assaulted in March.
Some of the suspects allegedly used the 'loverboy' method of trafficking, which involves a man luring a victim into a relationship in order to sexually exploit them later, DIICOT said.
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The victims were transported and housed in buildings in Ilfov county, which surrounds Bucharest, where they were coerced into making pornographic content, it is alleged.
DIICOT released a video of the raid showing guns, knives and money on display in one room.
Since retiring from combat sports, Tate has received attention for his misogynistic comments on social media.
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In 2016, he was removed from Britain's version of the Big Brother TV show over a video that appeared to show him hitting a woman with a belt.
The following year, he was banned from Twitter for saying women should 'bear responsibility' for being sexually assaulted, but was reinstated last month.
Earlier in the week, Tate sparked a war of words with climate activist Greta Thunberg when he shared a picture of himself standing next to a Bugatti and claimed he owned 33 cars.
"Please provide your email address so I can send a complete list of my car collection and their respective enormous emissions," he tweeted, tagging Thunberg.
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She replied: "Yes, please do enlighten me. email me at [email protected]."
Tate and his brother have been under investigation since April alongside two Romanian nationals.