FBI, Atlanta police target unauthorized drones flying near World Cup venues

ATLANTA — The FBI and Atlanta Police Department are getting ready for a massive security operation ahead of the World Cup semifinals between England and Argentina at Atlanta Stadium. 

Both agencies have used drones to search for potential threats on the ground and in the sky. The FBI is enforcing the Federal Aviation Administration's Temporary Flight Restrictions around the venue. 

The FBI has confiscated more than 600 drones nationwide since the World Cup began. Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Atlanta Field Office Marlo Graham said 86 of those drones were seized in Atlanta. 

Graham said the FBI uses a "mechanism" that allows agents to see unauthorized drones in restricted airspace. Agents then work to mitigate the threat posed by unknown drones.

"We've been able to safely land drones that have been unauthorized in the flight restricted area," Graham said. 

While the FBI treats every drone as a potential threat, Graham said the threat level can increase depending on the size of the drone and how close it gets to the stadium.

"Obviously, the closer to the venue, the larger the crowd. We are fortunate here in Atlanta that we have a closed dome stadium," Graham said. "We don't want the game to be impacted because a hobbyist couldn't control their drone, and it lands right when one of our star players was getting ready to score a goal."

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The Atlanta Police Department's Drone Unit has helped the FBI track down people suspected of flying in restricted zones. 

Sgt. Kindu Franklin said most of the people caught flying drones around World Cup venues are hobbyists with no intent to harm the crowd of soccer fans below.

"In some cases, they just recently bought a drone just for FIFA to get some of the cool footage that they want to put up on their social media," Franklin said. "There are different ways that you can weaponize these drones. So, we're operating in a proactive manner."

The Atlanta Police Department's drone mission is focused on surveillance. Officers are looking for potential threats, traffic issues and people the FBI suspects are flying drones illegally.

"So, what we want to do is give our command staff a view that they can't get from the ground," Sgt. James Cunningham with APD's Drone Unit said. 

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Cunningham's unit can launch drones remotely from handheld controllers. Other drones are launched from docking stations strategically placed across the city, and officers control them from the back of an SUV using a computer and a PlayStation controller. 

The drone docks are used year-round to help the police get an aerial view of emergency situations before officers arrive. The computer shows the drone pilot where all the police body cameras and vehicles are in the area, allowing them to communicate better with officers on the ground. 

For the World Cup, the drone docks let the department have more eyes in the sky and respond to emergencies faster.

"It's going to cut down time. We're going to get there quick. And then you're going to get an aerial perspective of what you can't see on the ground," Cunningham said. 

Cunningham said the drone unit has completed more than 1,400 flights and logged more than 550 flight hours since the beginning of June. 

"Some people haven't even done that in years or haven't even reached those numbers in the life of their drone unit," Cunningham said. 

"We train for the environment. We live here, so we know what to expect," Anais Paredes, an APD drone pilot, said. 

The FBI is asking that hobbyist drone pilots know the Temporary Flight Restrictions in their area before taking off. 

There is a one-mile restriction around World Cup stadiums on non-match days, and a three-mile restriction on game day.