MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. (WSVN) - As football fans flock to South Florida ahead of the Super Bowl game, authorities remain focused on making security a top priority.
Wednesday morning, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials gave 7News a glimpse at how they’re checking cargo coming into the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, where the showdown between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chief will take place, Sunday night.
Last week, authorities introduced X-ray units to be used to examine cargo arriving at ports of entry across the U.S.
7News cameras captured one of the X-ray trucks in action, screening a Penske truck bringing cargo into the stadium.
“They line up, the drivers get checked. The trucks themselves get scanned and checked,” said U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Chief Gary Nellis. “If we can’t determine what it is, sometimes things are denser than others, what they do is, they will then have the truck opened up, and they’ll do a physical inspection.”
Attendees for Super Bowl 54 will be going through checkpoints similar to those at airports on Sunday.
Wednesday afternoon, a representative for almost every local law enforcement agent joined federal agents for their annual Super Bowl security briefing.
“There’s no specific or credible threat to the Super Bowl. Its is an extremely high-risk and iconic American event,” said Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Chad Wolf.
Officials said operations will be taking place in the air and on the water.
“Both U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s air and marine operations, as well as the Coast Guard, are working together to secure Florida’s waterways, both with aircraft and with vessels,” said Wolf.
Miami-Dade Police officers, meanwhile, will be responsible for security inside the stadium.
“We do have different layers that have already been put into place in order to keep that 300-foot perimeter as safe as possible,” said MDPD Detective Alvaro Zabaleta.
MDPD units are gearing up alongside agents to test out how to respond to different scenarios, such as taking down suspects who pose a threat and how to respond to suspicious activity inside of the stadium.
“There’s all different committees that have been put into place that have within the committee, all three — local, state and federal partners in there,” said Zabaleta.
Officials said they are taking no chances with the massive amounts of fans traveling to South Florida.
Black Hawk helicopters will also be patrolling the area.
“The goal here is to have it be a great game, a great event for South Florida, but let the fans know that they’re going to be as safe as possible by the effort being made by all law enforcement,” said Nellis.
Three of the units have been used to monitor everything coming into the stadium in over 400 vehicles prior to the big game.
K-9 units are also being brought to the scene so the dogs can sniff out explosives.
“We’re ready to take on any type of threat that comes on. We plan for the worst and hope for the best,” said Zabaleta.
The NFL also wants fans to do their part and report any suspicious activity.
“We don’t care how insignificant it is. If it looks out of the ordinary to you, we want you to report that,” said NFL Chief Security Officer Cathy Lanier.
FBI and DHS officials said they are also taking steps to prevent cyber attacks. Agents will be out in full force fighting human trafficking, as well as the sale of counterfeit goods.
Officials have sent out the warning stating that Hard Rock Stadium and other venues for Super Bowl-related events are no drone zones, and that means those caught flying drones in those areas could face criminal charges.
7News will be providing extensive ongoing coverage of events leading up to the big game. Coverage of Super Bowl Sunday will begin at 8 a.m. on Today in Florida.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.