For a place that supposedly holds no secrets, Area 51 continues to be a hotbed of controversy. Ever since 1947, when an alien spacecraft is said to have crashed in Roswell, NM, the public has been obsessed in unraveling its secrets of the mecca of UFO country. One BBC film crew almost didn’t make it back after visiting the mysterious locale.

While filming a documentary about UFO conspiracy theories, UFO investigator Darren Perks and his crew of 11 were held at gunpoint and made to lie on the ground for purportedly “hours” while government authorities decided their fate. One member of the crew was supposedly threatened by a man with an assault rifle, and was warned that: “We could make you disappear and your body will never be found.” Not quite a friendly welcome.

This isn’t the first time that a media team has been met with hostility at the base. Back in 2010, Jesse Ventura was driven away from Area 51 while investigating raids that had been conducted by the Join Terrorism Task Force on the homes of Area 51 experts. Considering that the boundary around the base is designated as the “line of death,” it seems that Ventura, and now the BBC film crew, narrowly escaped with their lives.

The local sheriff denies that there was any wrongdoing – Area 51 is clearly marked as a U.S. Air Force Installation, and so, is protected from trespassers. Additionally, he says, the length and method of detainment of the British crew were greatly exaggerated. But why guard a place, which allegedly holds no secrets, so aggressively at all?

READ MORE:

Penetrating the Secrets of Area 51

The Secret History of Aliens on Earth

People Who Have Been Abducted by Aliens