BBC Film Crew Held at Gunpoint in Nevada’s Area 51

A film crew from the well-known British Broadcasting Company (BBC) was captured by military officers at gunpoint after sneaking into the infamous Area 51 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Armed with M16, the area’s security forces forced this 12-man crew to lie on the ground and confiscated their phones, cameras, wallets and other credentials.

UFO expert Darren Perks, who was with the crew at that moment, explained that their main intention was to tour across California, Arizona and Nevada with Andrew Maxwell, a comedian presenter, and other four persons who are dedicated to search for evidence on UFO existence. He added that they chose to have a trip to Nevada first since Area 51 has been widely known as a mysterious military base in the world. Besides, the team was so attracted to the clear night sky that they hoped a lot to spot something unusual.

The BBC film team entered the military base on May 14, 2012 at approximately 5pm without any permission because they said there were no military officials in the entrance and the area was silent and seemed unattended. They tried to call the guards but nobody was there. The team filmed for 30 minutes, took some images, and strolled in the vicinity before the guards rushed out and had their faced lied on the ground for three hours. The situation then eased off when the Lincoln County Sheriffs arrived and issued them a ticket. Each crew members got fined 375 British pounds after being grilled on their purpose for trespassing.

The incident was so serious that Washington had to inform London that 12 British people breached security at U.S. top-secret military base. The BBC crew was facing six-month imprisonment before a kind, unknown Washington official had them lifted from the case.