Feds Use Eyes In The Sky To Stop Drug Smugglers
Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Drug cartels are now using homemade aircraft and drones to deliver narcotics over the U.S./Mexico border.
But border patrol is using some high flying technology to track down the drugs and the bad guys.
The Tethered Aerostat Radar System, or T.A.R.S., monitors the entire border. Six blimps, from Arizona to Texas, carry specialized radar that can detect aircraft flying too low for conventional radar to detect. That includes drones and homemade low flying planes which are equipped with drop baskets.
"Our law enforcement officers will that see that on the radar and get the drugs, get the bad guys that are waiting for the drugs," said Rob Brown, T.A.R.S. program manager.
The T.A.R.S. radar images are sent to a military base in California. Once something is spotted, border patrol teams can be there in minutes.
If the smuggler makes it back over the border, the T.A.R.S. technology helps track down the drugs before they get into the wrong hands.
The T.A.R.S. system isn't just used to monitor the U.S. border with Mexico. Blimps are also stationed in the Florida Keys and Puerto Rico, to help keep an eye out for suspicious activity in both the air and on the water.