Ex-US Navy Seal released on bail after arrest at KLIA

 

Former Navy Seal Ryan Bates was said to have been filming a Netflix series that also featured the Malaysian armed forces. (Instagram pic)

PETALING JAYA: A US citizen who had been detained by police for carrying three empty bullet casings in his bag at KLIA has been released on bail.

Selangor police chief Hussein Omar Khan said Ryan Bates, a former Navy Seal, is not allowed to leave the country until an investigation is complete.

“The suspect has been granted bail but is not allowed to leave the country while the investigation is being conducted, and later referred to the deputy public prosecutor.

“He entered the country for a filming collaboration with the Malaysian armed forces and used the facilities at a military camp before being detained on June 30 at KLIA as he was about to return to the US,” Berita Harian quoted him as saying.

Hussein said the case is being investigated under Section 8 of the Firearms Act 1971 for unlawful possession of firearms, which carries a jail term of up to 14 years and up to six strokes of a whip upon conviction.

He said Bates did not possess a permit to carry empty bullet casings.

Bates was said to have brought the empty bullet casings back with him for the filming of a Netflix series, “The World’s Toughest Forces”, in Malaysia. - FMT