Bucharest: Andrew Tate, a divisive social media personality and former professional kickboxer, was detained in Romania late Thursday on charges of human trafficking and rape, according to local media reports.

Tate, a British-US citizen who previously was banned from various social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and hate speech, was reportedly detained along with his brother Tristan in the Ilfov area north of Romania's capital, Bucharest.

Romania's anti-organised crime agency said in a statement late that four suspects, including two British citizens and two Romanians, were arrested on charges of being part of an organised crime group, human trafficking and rape.

The agency, DIICOT, said the British citizens recruited women who were subjected to "acts of physical violence and mental coercion," sexually exploited by group members and forced to perform in pornography intended to reap "important financial benefits."

The statement did not name the Tate brothers. Photographs published by Romanian media outlets pictured Tate being led away in handcuffs by masked law enforcement officers.

DIICOT said it identified six people who were sexually exploited by the organised criminal group, and that five homes were raided on Thursday. The suspects were detained for 24 hours.

Earlier this week, Tate posted a video on Twitter of a mountainous region of Romania, the Eastern European country where he is reported to have lived for the last five years.

Tate also was embroiled this week in a war of words with 19-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg after he shared a picture of himself standing next to a Bugatti on Twitter and bragged that he owned 33 cars.

Video footage from the police raid accompanying the anti-organised crime agency's statement shows several blurred-out sports cars, wads of cash, and a handgun.

On Wednesday, the British national was told to “get a life” by Thunberg on Twitter after he told her he owned 33 cars with "enormous emissions."

It all began when Tate, a self-described misogynist, bragged about owning “33 cars” and said he is happy to share details about the “enormous emissions” of his cars. Tagging Greta Thunberg, he asked for her email address.

Thunberg, 19, clapped back with a savage reply that became hugely viral. “Yes, please do enlighten me,” she tweeted in response, adding a made-up email address to mock Tate. The fake address ends with “get a life”.

The interaction did not end there. Tate, in turn, shared his response in a video. The two-minute clip has him speaking, wearing a robe and holding a cigar. At one point, he is seen collecting two pizza boxes from someone and placing them on the table.

The boxes, from Jerry’s Pizza – which has outlets in Romania – are suspected to have helped the Romanian authorities track down Andrew Tate, according to several reports.

 

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Durban, Nov 8: Sanju Samson scored a scintillating century as India inflicted a 61-run defeat on South Africa in the first T20I here on Friday.

Invited to bat, Samson blazed away to 107 off 50 balls, hitting as many as 10 sixes and seven fours to help India post 202 for 8.

The spin duo of Varun Chakaravarthy (3/25) and Ravi Bishnoi (3/28) then shared six wickets between them to bowl out South Africa for 141 in 17.5 overs.

Earlier, Samson became the first Indian to score back-to-back centuries in T20Is.

The opener notched his second T20I hundred off just 47 balls. His first had come in India's last outing against Bangladesh last month.

However, South Africa clawed their way back into the game as they stemmed the flow of runs by picking wickets in the last five overs.

Pacer Gerald Coetzee who claimed three wickets was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts.

Brief Scores:

India: 202 for 8 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 107, Tilak Verma 33; Gerald Coetzee 3/37)

South Africa: 141 all out in 17.5 overs (Heinrich Klaasen 25; Varun Chakaravarthy 3/25, Ravi Bishnoi 3/28)