FBI and local law enforcement target unknown drones flying over World Cup venues

The FBI and Atlanta Police Department are using drones to scan for threat on the ground and in the sky ahead of the World Cup semifinals at Atlanta Stadium.

The FBI and the Atlanta Police Department are getting ready for a huge security operation ahead of the World Cup semifinals at Atlanta Stadium. The FBI is partnering with local police to find and confiscate unknown drones flying in restricted airspace around World Cup venues. The FBI has seized more than 600 drones since the World Cup started. The Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Atlanta field office tells FOX that her counter-drone team has confiscated at least 86 drones around World Cup events in Atlanta. "Many individuals who have their drones up, they are hobbyists, they are photographers, they are individuals that are kind of novices to the drones and the requirements that are enacted for you to fly your drone safely," Special Agent in Charge Marlo Graham said. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Police Department's Drone Unit is using drones for surveillance. Sgt. James Cunningham shows FOX how his team launches drones from strategic spots around the city. He says the APD Drone Unit has completed more than 1,400 flights since the start of the World Cup and has logged 550 flight hours in a five-week span. "What we want to do is give our command staff a view they can't get from the ground. Whether that's crowd control, checking out traffic situations, looking for a subject, or even assisting in emergency units that are trying to respond to a scene," Sgt. Cunningham said. The FAA placed a three-mile no-fly zone around the stadium until the end of the tournament.