They are coming by land, sea and air: authorities are preparing an extensive security effort ahead of the Super Bowl, which will have the nation's eyes on South Florida.
On Friday, NBC 6 got an exclusive look at what the Transportation Security Administration is doing along with the Miami-Dade Counter Terrorist team to protect transportation facilities.
You normally think of the TSA’s Air Marshalls being on airplanes, but Friday they’re on the people mover.
“The federal air marshals and the VIPR federal air marshals are highly trained in surveillance and surveillance techniques and we are going to be watching everybody," Supervisory Air Marshall in Charge Adam Nikaj said.
A heavily-armed Miami Dade Police Counter Terrorist team will also be present on the people mover.
“They are going into areas where perhaps the centers of commerce, anywhere where terrorist activity may be concentrated," said Chris Thomas with Miami Dade Police. "We work along with homeland security bureau and they saturate those areas."
The FAA had made clear no drones could fly around South Beach or downtown Miami in the days leading up to the game. On Friday, a Weston man, Yorgan Ramos Teran, was arrested for violating the airspace, exactly what the FAA warned would happen.
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“One of the things we want to make sure of is that when people are attending, they don’t have to worry about drones in the air that might be flown by bad actors," said Kevin Morris, the FAA’s Drone Expert.
Ramos Teran is presumed innocent but, if convicted, could end up spending a year in jail and he faces heavy fines of up to $30,000.
On Super Bowl Sunday if you have a drone, the wise thing is just to leave it in its container, because you can’t fly it Sunday afternoon or evening within a 30-mile radius of Hard Rock Stadium, and that takes up much of Miami Dade and Broward counties.
Also, in the air will be fighter jets—F-15s from the Florida National Guard. They are keeping any airplanes a safe distance away.
On the sea, the Coast Guard has a message for boaters coming through Biscayne Bay near downtown Miami: move at a slow steady speed.
An additional 250 Coast Guard men and women are on duty over the next several days to keep a close eye on the Port Of Miami, the big ships, and the coastline.
Miami Dade police today rolled out new motorcycles that will be ridden by SRT officers with tactical training.
“What’s different about these motorcycles is that they have the ability to go off road. They can navigate easily in different terrains, Indifferent environments," Major Ed Caneva said.
