Jason Lee, A New Zealand Jiu-Jitsu Fighter, Claims He Was Kidnapped, Robbed In Rio

Jason Lee, a ji-jitsu athlete from New Zealand, said he was kidnapped and robbed by people wearing police uniforms in Rio, on the eve of the Olympic games, according to reports on Monday.

Jason Lee Says He Was Kidnapped & Robbed In Rio

Lee, while not a current member of the New Zealand Olympic team, has brought about safety concerns for the thousands of tourists and athletes set to visit Rio over the next couple of weeks.

“What did you guys get up to yesterday? I got kidnapped. Go Olympics!” Lee wrote on Twitter.

Laura McQuillan, a New Zealand journalist in Rio covering the Olympics, is dating Lee according the New Zealand Herald. She added her own statement on Twitter with more details.

“Boyfriend was accosted by Policia Militar cops who drove him to two ATMs and forced him to withdraw cash,” McQuillan tweeted.

Lee was reportedly pulled over by two police on motorbikes, each armed with a pistol. The police told Lee they were carrying out a routine search for drugs and weapons.

“First he asked me stretch my arms, then patted me down. He grabbed my genital area, which was quite a surprise,” Lee recalled to Stuff.co. “At this point it still looked reasonably professional.”

After the search, one of officers took Lee’s license and the registration of his rented car away to his bike for a few minutes. When he returned, the officer told Lee he was breaking the law.

The police insisted that Lee either paid them 2000 Brazilian Reais (NZ$850) or they would arrest him and take him to the federal police.

Lee explained that when he told the officers he did not have that much cash, they took him to several ATMs to withdraw the money — then warned him not to report the incident.