Romania's Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) issued a statement, but did not name the Tate brothers, stating that two British citizens and two Romanian citizens were suspected of being part of a criminal group focused on human trafficking. The statement said officers had identified six people who were "sexually exploited" by what it called an "organised criminal group". Police said the victims were "recruited" by the British citizens, who they said had misrepresented their intention to enter into a relationship with the victims - which it called "the loverboy method". Prior to gaining worldwide notoriety, Tate - a British citizen who was born in the US - fought professionally as a kickboxer and won world titles. He went on to gain notoriety online, with Twitter banning him for saying women should "bear responsibility" for being sexually assaulted.

Source: The Star December 31, 2022 01:27 UTC