Thai police arrest 4 Japanese men over drugs, bribery

ARRESTED. Members of the Thai police arrest the 4 suspects, aged between 34 and 50, on Friday, October 23.

BANGKOK, Thailand – Four Japanese men have been charged over drug trafficking and bribery in Bangkok after they were busted in an undercover operation, Thai police said on Saturday, October 24.

The 4 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 Saturday, 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 3 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 5 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." – Rappler.com