Police raided a cannabis packing factory allegedly run by a Japanese tourist in Thailand.

Officers arrived at the three-storey commercial building in Chiang Mai province on October 3 where drugs are believed to be packed and shipped to distributors.

One Japanese national identified as Katsuhisa Komiya, 41, was arrested along with four Thai workers packing the cannabis into boxes.

Komiya, who is staying in the country under a work visa, is believed to have rented the building for the illegal operation.

They also seized 1000 boxes containing the contraband from the warehouse of the building.

The substances are reportedly peddled to local and Japanese customers through social media platforms.

Royal Thai Police Deputy Commander General Manu Mekmok said that Komiya is an employee at the Japanese Embassy.

He said: "We will conduct more investigation and find the other dealers involved in the distribution of these drugs."