Kiwi in Thai jail after being arrested with drugs

Phuket in Thailand. Photo / Thinkstock

A New Zealand man is in a Thai jail after he was busted in possession of illegal drugs on the holiday island of Phuket.

Taylor Grainger, 41, was arrested with 1.2 grams of ya bah methamphetamine and 0.95 grams of cocaine in Patong, a popular haunt for tourists visiting Phuket, the Phuket Wan Tourism News reported.

The paper said further details were expected to be released by officers at Kathu Police Station, which oversees Patong, later today.

Phuket police have been conducting a week-long blitz on drugs since December 20.

The arrest follows the recent busts of two other Kiwis both of whom are in prisons in Bali and China where they are facing drugs charges.

Antony de Malmanche, a 52-year-old sickness beneficiary from Whanganui, was arrested at Bali's Denpasar airport, allegedly with 1.7kg of methamphetamine in his backpack.

He faces drug trafficking charges but said he was the victim of an online dating scam involving a fictitious woman called Jessie.

Peter Gardner, 25, was detained in China in November and faces execution by firing squad.

Chinese customs authorities said two items of his luggage checked in to a flight from Guangzhou to Sydney were found to contain 30kg of methamphetamine.

His Australian travelling companion Kalynda Davis, 22, was released and returned to Sydney after 30 days in detention.

Gardner holds New Zealand and Australian citizenship and lives in Sydney.