INTERNATIONAL travellers face strict new high-tech security screening before boarding flights, under a border protection hit designed to intercept global syndicate drug mules.
The Ministry of Immigration is finalising a sophisticated electronic intelligence system forcing inbound passengers to submit deep-level personal data before departure.
The mandatory digital tracking system integrates the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) and Passenger Name Record (PNR) data to build comprehensive traveller profiles.
Minister for Immigration Viliame Naupoto confirmed the enhanced border system was in its final operational stages, with commercial vendors bidding for a tender.
The dual-layered data surveillance directly targets international narcotics trafficking.
It scans individual passenger histories, booking timelines, and digital footprints to identify high-risk anomalies.
Immigration officials will receive the intelligence data before aircraft leave foreign runways.
This allows local authorities to isolate suspect targets well before landing.
Tourists and business travellers will experience seamless entry, while the automated grid isolates individuals showing irregular patterns.
“Once the tender has been awarded, we will be able to sign a contract with the vendor for the system,” he said.
He highlighted that the system would zero in on persons of interest to help fight the war against drugs.
“API tells us who is travelling, and PNR gives a little story of the traveller.
“When you combine the two, the system will flag who we need to pay more attention to, allowing genuine travellers to pass effortlessly.”
