Gordon Ramsay held at gunpoint as gang poured petrol over him in terrifying ordeal

When Gordon Ramsay set out to film a documentary on the hidden world of shark finning, he expected anything but to be doused in petrol, blocked in by cars with blacked-out windows, and threatened at gunpoint. The chef and his crew had travelled to Costa Rica in 2011 to make an episode of Channel 4's Big Fish Fight, a series exposing controversial fishing practices. Their investigation soon uncovered just how lucrative - and dangerous - the shark fin trade could be.

The trade, worth an estimated $1billion a year globally, has been linked to organised crime and is often conducted in secretive, heavily guarded environments. Speaking after the ordeal, Ramsay described discovering thousands of fins drying on rooftops after managing to gain access to a guarded facility. "At one, I managed to shake off the people who were keeping us away, ran up some stairs to a rooftop and looked down to see thousands and thousands of fins, drying on rooftops as far as the eye could see," he recalled.

When he returned, he said, men doused him with petrol and cars with blacked-out windows attempted to block his team in. "We dived into the car and peeled off," Ramsay told reporters. Local police later advised the crew to leave the country, warning that their safety could not be guaranteed. "They said if you set one foot in there, they'll shoot you," Ramsay recalled.

The crew also managed to board one of the fishing boats linked to the trade. Ramsay said he discovered a sack of fins tied beneath the vessel. When he pulled it on deck, tempers flared and armed men confronted the team again.

At one point, the group were reportedly forced to stand against a wall at gunpoint until police intervened.

Despite a Costa Rican government crackdown in 2000, the country has remained a hub for shark finning. Conservation groups estimate that between 73 and 100million sharks are killed globally each year for their fins. A single pound of shark fin can fetch more than £150, making it one of the most lucrative parts of the fishing industry.

Much of Costa Rica's trade has been linked to Taiwanese and Indonesian crime syndicates. One port alone is believed to handle three shiploads of fins each week. For many campaigners, the high profits and lack of regulation make the industry particularly difficult to combat.

The dramatic scenes formed part of Ramsay's Big Fish Fight contribution, which aimed to raise awareness of unsustainable fishing and hidden practices within the industry.

Although years have passed since the events in Costa Rica, the programme drew international attention to shark finning and the risks faced by those who investigate it. For Ramsay, it was a stark reminder that the trade is not only lethal for marine life but also perilous for those attempting to expose it.