Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok (Source: Reuters)Bangkok (VNA) - Thailand has installed a screening system called the “Advance Passenger Processing System” at its six international airports to enable the detection of blacklisted criminals and those subject to a “Red Notice” — an Interpol arrest warrant.
The new system started working from December 1, allowing immigration officers to step up efforts to prevent terrorists and criminals from entering and leaving the country.
Police Maj. Gen. Nathathorn Prousoontorn, commissioner of immigration, told reporters at the system’s launch at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport that the APPS system will obstruct criminals with arrest warrants from coming into Thailand at the point of boarding, as well as from trying to leave Thailand.
The system will link with the immigration police’s blacklist database and partly with Interpol and airlines so the check-in counters will receive information instantly on whether the passenger is approved to board the plane to Thailand or not, he said.
Additionally, a one billion baht (27.9 million USD) biometric facial, fingerprint and iris recognition system will be linked with the newly installed procedure.
Besides being fully connected to Interpol’s database in 2016, the APPS will link to the biometric system so officers can identify criminals even more precisely, he added.
After a deadly bomb attack killed 20 people and injured more than a hundred in Bangkok in August, Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha ordered a reform of the country’s security and border control systems, and approved a budget of one billion baht for the purchase of the biometric system to be enacted at immigration checkpoints at airports and border crossings throughout the country.
The alert mechanism will also benefit the customs system, as accessing passenger information will help officials detect and assess the risk of problematic parcels that might carry drugs or weapons.
The APPS system is being installed in many countries, such as Singapore and Malaysia, to counter international terrorism. A fee of thirty-five baht (0.97 USD) will be added to airfares to cover the cost of its implementation.-VNA
