Lao People’s Democratic Republic Airport Deploys Regula 4306 Comparator to Combat Document Fraud and Transnational Crime
The space-saving yet full-function video spectral comparator Regula 4306 has been deployed at Wattay International Airport in Vientiane, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, to strengthen the country’s border security. This initiative aims to combat transnational crimes, including human trafficking, smuggling, and irregular migration.
Like many countries, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic faces growing challenges in identifying forged identity documents used by criminals and irregular migrants. Until recently, document verification at border checkpoints relied heavily on manual inspection, which was time-consuming, prone to errors, and less effective against increasingly sophisticated forgery techniques. In collaboration with International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Lao immigration authorities began modernizing their approach by adopting a forensic solution to strengthen document authentication and border security.
In partnership with IOM in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and the Australian Department of Home Affairs, the Lao immigration authorities deployed the Regula 4306 video spectral comparator at the country’s major airport in Vientiane. This step equipped border officials with advanced forensic tools for in-depth document authentication, and significantly automated the whole process.
Video spectral comparator Regula 4306 deployed at the Lao border
With a vast array of features in the Regula 4306, ID verification at the Lao border achieved much-needed high precision. For instance, the device’s high-resolution 8 MP camera with 60x optical zoom captures document images at up to 18,900 ppi and enables officials to analyze even the finest details, including printing techniques. Additionally, with over 40 types of light sources and 18 light filters, the Regula 4306 allows authorities at the second line of border control to examine the most intricate document security features, such as holograms, watermarks, microprinting, and optically variable elements, ensuring a more reliable fraud detection process. Apart from that, 3D visualization helps analyze a document’s surface relief and intersecting lines, and the hyperspectral imaging module enables forensic experts to detect document alterations, differentiate ink properties, or recover faded text.
Regula 4306 is controlled via Regula Forensic Studio (RFS) cross-platform software. With RFS, an expert can perform a wide range of examinations, conduct precise measurements and comparisons, process images in various modes, and generate comprehensive examination reports without losing a single detail. Its powerful tools and intuitive interface ensure accuracy and reliability, enabling thorough and efficient forensic investigations. Integrated with Regula Document Reader SDK, RFS enables comprehensive, automated document checks, eliminating the need for additional equipment or software. Regula Document Reader SDK can instantly recognize and validate IDs’ machine-readable zones (MRZs,) RFID chips, barcodes, and invisible personal information (IPI), significantly reducing manual workload and minimizing human error. Also, as it is backed up by Regula’s identity document template database (the most comprehensive in the world), this software is able to verify a wide range of IDs from 251 countries and territories, even the rarest ones.
To ensure seamless adoption of Regula 4306 at Wattay International Airport, Regula experts conducted specialized training sessions for the Lao immigration officials. This ensured that they had hands-on experience and were fully equipped to handle advanced document verification.
Integrating Regula’s devices into the Lao border management operations is a vital step toward combating serious crimes such as human trafficking and irregular migration. This technology enables detection of fraudulent documents with higher accuracy, eliminating human errors.
— Shareen Tuladhar, Chief of Mission, IOM in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Border crossings are the frontline of many serious crimes, making border security crucial to the country's overall safety. We are honored to contribute to strengthening Lao border security. By equipping the Lao immigration authorities with our top-selling video spectral comparator, the Regula 4306, we are providing them with advanced forensic tools to precisely detect even the most sophisticated document forgeries and stop criminals before they can cause harm.
— Alex Lewanowicz, Director of Hardware Engineering at Regula
To learn more about the project of equipping the Lao border with the Regula 4306, read the full success story on the Regula website.