Dublin comedian Andrew Maxwell held at gunpoint by FBI while making UFO doc

Controversial BBC TV documentary crew almost got in some very hot water in Nevada

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Dublin comedian Andrew Maxwell (right) and a member of the BBC crew at the infamous white letter-box:

Photo by � Darren Perks

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A BBC film crew, including Dubliner turned London resident Andrew Maxwell, was arrested at gunpoint by what was thought to be the FBI.

The 12-man crew were visiting the famous top secret Area 51 site in Nevada, where it is claimed bodies of aliens are held. The crew were making a documentary for the BBC3 called “Conspiracy Road Trip.” They ignored warning signs and slipped past security to film inside the fence.

Minutes after breaching security they were surrounded by armed guards brandishing M16 assault rifles. The guards forced the crew to lie face-down for three hours while the FBI ran security checks.

UFO expert Darren Perks (34), one of the crew, told the Sun, that one of the cops told him “Listen, son, we could make you disappear and your body would never be found.”

They were fined $600 (£375) and ordered not to reveal what they had seen at Area 51.
However Perks said, “We didn’t see anything except a bit of tarmac.”

Perks told the Daily Mail online, “Basically the concept of the trip was to tour across California, Arizona and Nevada with comedian presenter Andrew Maxwell and four people who had an interest in the UFO phenomena.

“We went to Area 51 in Nevada firstly because it’s related to the UFO phenomena and secondly so we could do a nighttime sky watch to see if we could spot anything unusual.”

When the crew arrived to the “Back Gate” of Area 51 they could not see any guards or vehicles.
Perks continued, “We filmed for approximately 30 minutes and tried to call the guards but there was no one there and no sign of them.

“So we all decided to walk past the barriers onto the restricted area past the security huts and basically onto Area 51. Nothing happened....”

It wasn’t until some time later that drama ensued.

“We filmed again for another 30 minutes and even messed around doing a silly dance, but still no guards,” Perks explained.

“Then one of the other stars of the trip pointed out that on looking through one of the security hut windows, she could see the guards all sitting down eating dinner and watching the basketball game on TV. They did nothing.

“So after a few more minutes and a few more picture taking and filming, one of the crew decided to speak to the guards and knocked on their hut door. All hell broke loose.

“The guards rushed out with their weapons and forced us all to lay face down at gunpoint in the tarmac.

“We were all searched, had our phones, wallets and IDs taken and the film equipment taken. This was at approx 6:15pm.

“For three hours we lay face down until the Lincoln County Sheriffs arrived on scene.

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