FBI Behind Mysterious Surveillance Aircraft Over US Cities

Photo Credit: AP News My Way By Jack Gillum, Eileen Sullivan and Eric Tucker. The FBI is operating a small air force with scores of low-flying planes across the country carrying video and, at times, cellphone surveillance technology — all hidden behind fictitious companies that are fronts for the government, The Associated Press has learned.

The planes’ surveillance equipment is generally used without a judge’s approval, and the FBI said the flights are used for specific, ongoing investigations. In a recent 30-day period, the agency flew above more than 30 cities in 11 states across the country, an AP review found.

Aerial surveillance represents a changing frontier for law enforcement, providing what the government maintains is an important tool in criminal, terrorism or intelligence probes. But the program raises questions about whether there should be updated policies protecting civil liberties as new technologies pose intrusive opportunities for government spying.

U.S. law enforcement officials confirmed for the first time the wide-scale use of the aircraft, which the AP traced to at least 13 fake companies, such as FVX Research, KQM Aviation, NBR Aviation and PXW Services. Even basic aspects of the program are withheld from the public in censored versions of official reports from the Justice Department’s inspector general.

“The FBI’s aviation program is not secret,” spokesman Christopher Allen said in a statement. “Specific aircraft and their capabilities are protected for operational security purposes.” Allen added that the FBI’s planes “are not equipped, designed or used for bulk collection activities or mass surveillance.” (Read more from “FBI Behind Mysterious Surveillance Aircraft Over US Cities” HERE)

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Police Arrest Robbery Suspect After Tracking With Drone

By Cassidy McDonald. The robbery suspect who was arrested with the help of a police drone on Sunday also stole a running car from a Near West Side coffee shop, police said.

Marquis Meki Isiah Phiffer, 21, of Monroe, was arrested on tentative charges operating a car without the owner’s consent, eluding an officer and robbery.

Around 1:15 p.m., a 50-year-old Madison man told police he stopped at EVP Coffee, 555 S. Midvale Blvd., and left his Subaru Outback running in the parking lot because he only planned to be inside for a few minutes. (Read more from this story HERE)

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