Controversial internet personality Andrew Tate and his brother were detained in Romania on Thursday, according to their defense lawyer.
Authorities in Romania said police served search warrants at five homes and detained four suspects, including two Britons and two Romanians, as part of an investigation into organized human trafficking and rape. They did not name any of those detained.
A lawyer for Andrew and Tristan Tate told CNN that the brothers were expected to appear in court later Friday. He stressed that Andrew Tate was not under arrest. “He was not arrested. He was detained for 24 hours,” said the lawyer, Eugen Vidineac.
The attorney did not discuss any of the allegations.
Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism, a government agency, released an edited, grainy, sometimes out-of-focus video purportedly showing the raids. A man can be seen being patted down by police. It’s unclear who is being detained in the video.
In a separate video aired by CNN affiliate Antena 3, officers from the crime agency can be seen escorting Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan Tate into police vehicles.