Andrew Tate and his brother have reportedly been detained in Romania on human trafficking charges following a search of an apartment

Far-right influencer Andrew Tate and his brother were reportedly detained in Romania on Thursday as part of a human trafficking investigation, Traffic light and Romanian media out Freedom report.

The Romanian Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism said in an announcement on Thursday that two unnamed British nationals, as well as two Romanians, had been detained for 24 hours for questioning as part of an investigation into women who were allegedly tricked into marriage, abused, then forced to participate in exploitative online pornographic videos.

freedom, citing “judicial sources”, named the two British nationals as Andrew and Tristan Tateand said they were being investigated for human trafficking and rape.

The Independent Romanian police have been contacted for comment.

“The four suspects … appear to have formed an organized criminal group to recruit, house and exploit women by forcing them to create pornographic content intended to be viewed on specialist websites for a fee,” prosecutors said of the searches, Reuters reports. “They were going to make significant amounts of money.”

The investigation reportedly targeted five homes linked to four suspects who allegedly held six women captive in various locations around Bucharest, The Daily Beast reportsquoting local media.

One of the Romanian suspects in the operation is a former police officer from Bucharest who was dating one of the Tates. according to the output.

An unverified video has gone viral on social media showing Mr Tate being arrested.

“At this time we cannot provide details on the alleged reports that they have been detained; However, Andrew and Tristan Tate have great respect for the Romanian authorities and will always cooperate and assist in any way they can,” said a spokesperson for the Tates The Independent.

The footage was obtained from a Romanian source a thought shows officers moving through a luxury home where guns and expensive cars can be seen.

In April, the Romanian police broke into Mr. Tate’s home as part of a human trafficking investigation, a woman was reportedly taken into custody at the Tates’ home.

As the investigation continued, police began looking into “crimes of human trafficking and rape,” The Daily Beast reports.

“No girls were found at my house and no one was arrested,” Tristan Tate told the publication at the time.

In an Instagram photo posted after the attack, Andrew Tate appeared to respond to the allegations, writing in the caption: “Police… I think we can all agree that cu*ts like to lie.”

In 2016, Andrew Tate, a former kickboxer, was kicked off the reality TV show Big Brotherafter a video surfaced of him hitting a woman with a belt, and a second clip showed him telling the woman to count the bruises he left on her body.

Mr Tate and the woman in the clip denied there was any abuse, describing the encounter as consensual sexual activity. The Guardian reports.

The former kickboxer gain a lot of male followers onlineand has been banned from various social media sites for his aggressive and often misogynistic views, including that women should “shut the hell up, have kids, sit at home, be quiet and make coffee”.

Earlier this week, climate activist Greta Thunberg went viral because of Mr. Tate’s mockerywho tagged Ms Thunberg in a post bragging about the carbon emissions of his various sports cars.