Human trafficking: what is it, why did Andrew Tate get arrested in Romania, meaning - and definition

According to reports, Romanian authorities have detained social media influencer Andrew Tate as part of a rape and human trafficking investigation.

While the former kickboxer's home in Bucharest's capital was being searched, his brother Tristan and two other suspects were also being held.

According to a report from the Reuters news agency, prosecutors said: “The four suspects … appear to have created an organised crime group with the purpose of recruiting, housing and exploiting women by forcing them to create pornographic content meant to be seen on specialised websites for a cost.”

A lawyer for the brothers has reportedly confirmed their detention. Tate and his brother have been under investigation since April alongside two Romanian nationals.

But what exactly is human trafficking? Here is everything you need to know.

What is human trafficking?

The trade of people for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others is known as human trafficking.

Providing a spouse in the case of a forced marriage or the removal of organs or tissues, including those used in surrogacy and ova removal, also fall under the category of human trafficking.

Victims of trafficking are mostly enlisted either via the use of force, fraud, deception, abuse of authority, or simple kidnapping. Because the victim's right to freedom of movement is violated by coercion and because they are exploited for commercial benefit, human trafficking is considered a crime against the person.

Human trafficking is the trade of people, often women and children, and it is not always associated with the movement of the person from one place to another.

Behind the trafficking of drugs and weapons, human trafficking is the third-largest criminal enterprise in the world, and is thought to be worth $5 to $9 billion annually.

People smuggling is a related crime that is distinguished by the victim usually giving permission for their movement, though smuggling scenarios can develop into human trafficking through pressure and exploitation.

What has happened to Andrew Tate?

Tate is an American-British influencer and former professional kickboxer who rose to fame as an internet personality spreading misogynistic and far-right ideology.

He was born in Washington, D.C, on 1 December 1986 and, after his parents divorced, moved with his mother and brother to England. He started training in boxing and martial arts in 2005 and in 2008 was ranked in the British top 10 in the light-heavyweight category by the International Sport Kickboxing Association (ISKA).

Tate won his first ISKA world title in 2011 in a match against Jean-Luc Benoit. The following year, Tate lost the Enfusion championship tournament to Franci Grajs before going on to win his second ISKA world title in 2013 against Vincent Petitjean. He has since retired from kickboxing.

He started gaining attention online in around the middle of 2022, and was initially known amongst far-right circles through his appearances on shows like Alex Jones’ InfoWars.

Tate has been repeatedly banned from social media, including being permanently banned from Facebook and Instagram. Parent company Meta said that Tate has violated their policy on “dangerous organisations and individuals”.

He has also been removed from TikTok, with the platform explaining that he violated its policies on “content that attacks, threatens, incites violence against, or otherwise dehumanises an individual or group”.

He has also been banned from YouTube for similar reasons, with the company citing violations against hate speech and Covid-19 misinformation.

Tate has found himself consistently hitting the headlines recently, after being announced dead by Piers Morgan’s hacked Twitter account to being mocked online for his attempt at boasting about his 33 cars with “enormous emissions” to climate activist Greta Thunberg.

Now, Romanian authorities have detained the social media influencer as part of a rape and human trafficking investigation.

According to a report from the Reuters news agency, prosecutors said: “The four suspects … appear to have created an organised crime group with the purpose of recruiting, housing and exploiting women by forcing them to create pornographic content meant to be seen on specialised websites for a cost.”

A lawyer for the brothers has reportedly confirmed their detention. Tate and his brother have been under investigation since April alongside two Romanian nationals.

On 11 April 2022, Tate’s house in Romania was raided by authorities after the US embassy alerted police that an American woman was potentially being held at the property. Two women were found who claimed that they were being kept against their will, sparking the Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) human trafficking and rape investigation.

After being questioned for around five hours, both the brothers were released, with Tate telling Fox News’ Tucker Carlson that month that the incident was a result of “swatting”, which refers to when a person sends the authorities to a person’s address without any cause.