Surveillance the US way - Curt Lewis

DEA Operating Surveillance Aircraft Fleet Over U.S. And Abroad

New evidence indicates that the FBI is not the only federal agency using aircraft to conduct surveillance on Americans.

N1338B - DEA Surveillance Aircraft registered to fake company.

The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is operating a fleet of surveillance aircraft over locations within the United States as well as "foreign environments," according to Jeffrey Stramm special agent in charge of DEA aviation division.

The Administration does not "get warrants for public space surveillance," Stramm said in a phone call with The Post. He went on to say that this surveillance program is in accordance with Title 21 United States Code.

While Stramm wouldn't confirm the number of aircraft that make up the fleet, our investigation identified 92 aircraft (as of 2011), much like those belonging to the FBI surveillance fleet. An Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report indicated that the FY2010 budget for DEA aviation operations was $47.6 million. The report also stated that DEA employed 108 Special Agent Pilots as of June 2011.

The DEA surveillance fleet "engage[s] in daily activities," said Stramm, and "all aviation support requests are initiated by field office supervisors," according to the OIG report.

The DEA registered 30 aircraft of their fleet to a post office box in Houston, Texas under the corporate name of "Silver Creek Aviation Services," a company that does not exist beyond registering these aircraft. Another non existent company used for the sake of registering aircraft is "Lindsey Aviation Services," which houses an additional 10 surveillance aircraft.