MIAMI – Federal agents will be using giant trucks with X-ray machines to scan every truck that will be unloading cargo at Hard Rock Stadium for Super Bowl LIV.
According to Zachary Mann, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman, the truck-mounted X-ray machines will leave PortMiami and get to Miami Gardens on Monday.
In an effort to boost security during Super Bowl LIV week, Mann said CBP officers will be scanning “all the food products, the beverages, the sports equipment -- anything and everything that goes in up until game day."
The mobile gamma radiation-imaging technology has been helping CBP officers to perform non-invasive searches for about two decades. CBP Chief Gary Nellis relies heavily on the technology at PortMiami.
“We use these on a daily basis to scan containers and large vehicles that are entering the country for any threats -- be either terrorist or drug-related,” Nellis said.
The technology is known worldwide as the Vehicle and Cargo Inspection System. Once the cargo is scanned, the images appear on a computer display for a CBP inspector to evaluate. The denser the material the darker the image is.
Science Applications International Corporation, which develops technology for the U.S. military and other federal agencies, started selling the VCIS systems to CBP in 1999. The agency touted the system only required a two-person crew, and it was able to scan a moving or stationary 40-foot container in less than 10 seconds.
Mann said it was important for fans attending the Feb. 2 game to know that the law enforcement community is doing everything they can to protect them.
“The goal here is to have it be a great game, a great event for South Florida," Mann said. “Let the fans know that they are going to be as safe as possible by the effort made by all law enforcement.”