JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SPENT NEARLY $5M ON DRONES...

Source: AP

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[font size="1"]FILE - This Jan. 8, 2009 file photo provided by the Mesa County, Colo., Sheriff's Department shows a small Draganflyer X6 drone during a test flight in Mesa County, Colo., with a Forward Looking Infer Red payload. The FBI has been using drones to support its law enforcement operations since 2006 and has spent more than $3 million on the unmanned aircraft, the Justice Department's internal watchdog said Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Mesa County Sheriff's Unmanned Operations Team)[/font]



WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI has been using drones to support its law enforcement operations since 2006 and has spent more than $3 million on the unmanned aircraft, the Justice Department's internal watchdog said Thursday.

The disclosure came in a new report by the Justice Department's inspector general, Michael Horowitz, who revealed that the department also has awarded $1.26 million to at least seven local police departments and nonprofit organization for drones.

In addition, the IG said another Justice Department component, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, plans to use drones to support future operations. To date, the ATF has spent almost $600,000, the IG report stated.

From 2004 to May 2013, the Justice Department spent almost $5 million on the unmanned aircraft...

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/justice-dept-ig-fbi-spent-over-3m-drones