How to check an imap connection in laravel? I have tried imap_open but it doesn't work

IN LARAVEL

CODE:

function checkUser(User $user) {

    $mbox = imap_open("{imap.gmail.com:993/imap/ssl/novalidate-cert}", $user->email, $user->password, OP_HALFOPEN);

    if ($mbox)
        return true;
    else
        return false;
}

ERROR:

imap_open(): Couldn't open stream {imap.gmail.com:993/imap/ssl/novalidate-cert

via Chebli Mohamed