Bangkok, Thailand - IOM handed over Canadian funded travel document examination equipment and tools in order to strengthen Thai Immigration Bureau’s effort in combatting migrant smuggling and transnational organized crime.

These tools are critical for Thai immigration authorities and the Royal Thai Police in detecting any fraud identities which could lead to the expansion of transnational organized crime including smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons in Thailand and the region. The Handover Ceremony was organized at Thai Immigration Headquarters, Soi Suan Plu, Bangkok.

The Handover Ceremony is part of the 4th Phase of the Project ‘Strengthening Border Management and Intelligence Capacity of Thai Government Officials’, funded by the Government of Canada since 2012. Ms. Christine Constantin, Chief & Deputy Director of the Anti-Crime Capacity Building Program (ACCBP), based in Ottawa, Canada, participated in the Handover Ceremony together with the IOM Chief of Mission and the Police Major General Pornchai Kuntee Deputy Immigration Commissioner. “The handover of document examination equipment will not only strengthen border security in Thailand, but also in the region and globally”, she stated.

The donated tools include 100 units of portable devices to be used as a primary inspection tool for immigration frontline officers stationed at Thailand’s major airports namely Suvarnabhumi, Don Muang, Phuket and Chiang Mai international airport. The second item - ‘Verifier TD&B’ is the IOM developed standalone system used for secondary inspection level to assist immigration officers to detect fraudulent travel documents and imposters. It is designed to read contactless chips in the passports and conduct a check on multiple digital security features. During previous phases of the project, 8 workstations of Verifier TD&B have been donated to Thai Immigration Bureau and installed at arrival halls of major international airports and immigration land border checkpoints. Up December 2019, 3,320 cases have been examined by Verifier TD&B, 208 were detected as imposters and 297 cases were fraudulent travel documents.

“The donated Equipment and VERIFIER TD&B from IOM to Thai Immigration bureau will effectively facilitate and help supporting officers to detect fraudulent travel document. Thailand has hosted a high number of migrants who migrated for work related opportunities within the country. One of problems related to irregular migraiton is the easy-to-access information and technologies about fraudulent travel documents. Fraudulent travel documents, nowadays, are difficult to visually suspect; easy to create and tend to be well-counterfeited,” said Deputy Immigration Commissioner Police Major General Pornchai Kuntee..

The new Verifier TD&B will be installed at the Immigration Training Center, Don Muang area of Bangkok and this tool will be accessible as a resource center for officers undergoing training and any police agencies that deal with suspicious travel documents or persons in need of verification.

“This Ceremony marks a significant step for Thai immigration Bureau to equip the immigration authorities with inspection tools for the purpose of interception of fraudulent use of passports and imposters that are risky to the expansion of transnational organized crime in Thailand. In addition, the Handover Ceremony highlights a tie relationship and close collaboration between IOM Thailand, Thai Immigration Bureau and the Government of Canada,” IOM Thailand Chief of Mission Dana Graber Ladek concluded.

For more information, please contact Shehryar Ghazi at the IOM Thailand, Email: msghazi@iom.int or Panitee Nuykram at IOM Thailand, Tel: +66 23439370, Email: pnuykram@iom.int