Flexible Architecture System & Topology License Plate Recognition (FAST LPR) and Concept of Operations in Thailand

Abstract

This thesis examines the potential that exists in technologically advanced systems to assist the local law enforcement authorities in Thailand in their attempts to continue to effectively control the drug trafficking, despite the advent of newly appeared "threats," like the spread of the amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS). It also provides the pre-Concept of Operations (CONOPS) of such a system, funded by the DoD/CNTPO (Department of Defense/Counter-Narcoterrorism Technology Program Office). Even with opium seizures significantly reduced in the country, accompanied by a similar decline in heroin and morphine seizures, there is no space for complacency, especially given the fact that one of the neighboring countries, Myanmar, is placed among the top two opium producers around the globe. Illicit drug trafficking is a phenomenon that cannot be addressed autonomously. Rather, evidence strongly relates illicit drug trafficking to terrorism activity, in a relation that is highly reciprocal. In the past decade this common front is described by the term "narcoterrorism," stressing the correlation of these two areas of illegal activity, which until recently were independent of one another. Clearly, the only response to the sophisticated narcoterrorism networks must be based on advanced technological tools. The Flexible Architecture System and Topology License Plate Recognition (FAST LPR) system is a promising solution to this problem.