GARDAI have seized a “significant number” of electronic devices after raiding a house in Dublin as part of an investigation into drone incident at the American college football game in the Aviva Stadium last month.
Nearly 50,000 people – half of them visitors from the States – were in attendance at the game between Georgia Tech and Florida State last month.
ESPN had its highest Week Zero (first week of the season) audience since 2019 with this match, setting a new record for viewership of a College Football game held in Ireland on any network.
The game sold out with 47,988 fans attending, including 28,406 international visitors of which 2,497 came from 25 other countries.
Many nearby streets and busy city centre areas in Dublin were closed to traffic on the day of the game.
This marks the third year that the Aer Lingus College Football Classic has brought the game to Dublin, with the first held in 1988 when Boston College beat Army 38-24.
An investigation was later launched after what Gardai called was an “incident of endangerment” when a drone was flown at the stadium during the game.
On Saturday officers swooped on a house in Dublin and seized the drone, along with a number of other electronic devices.
In a statement, Gardai said: “An Garda Síochána are investigating an incident of endangerment at the Aviva Stadium on the 24th August 2024 at a sporting event.
“This incident involved a drone incursion during the game.
The drone was recovered and seized by investigating Gardaí.
“As part of the investigations Gardaí attached to DMR South Central Detective Units assisted by the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau conducted a search of a house in the Dublin area this morning Saturday 7th September, 2024 resulting in the seizure of a significant number of electronic devices.
“The investigation into this matter continues to advance and Gardaí are appealing for anyone with information relating to the incident to contact Irishtown Garda Station on 01 666 9600, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.”
