Four Japanese men arrested over drug trafficking and bribery in Bangkok. (Representational Image)
Four Japanese men have been charged over drug trafficking and bribery in Bangkok after they were busted in an undercover operation, Thai police said today.
The four accused, aged between 34 and 50, were arrested on Friday after a tip-off that one of the group was smuggling drugs out of Thailand.
"Our undercover agent bought 2.3 kilos (5 lbs) of ice" from one of the Japanese nationals in central Bangkok, said a police statement today, adding that the man was arrested and charged with drugs trafficking.
He was also charged with bribery for offering police 1.7 million baht ($48,000) for his release, it added.
Another three Japanese nationals were also later charged with bribery for offering police some $28,000 to release the original arrested man, the statement said.
Thailand is a known gateway to the lucrative Southeast Asian drugs market.
Seizures of "ice", a form of methamphetamine, have quadrupled across the Asia-Pacific region over five years, the United Nations said in May.
Much of the increase is down to an explosion in production of the usually less pure meth tablets, known in parts of Asia as "yaba".