A Bunging thug who was picked out for a search because of his face tattoos and snakeskin jacket was allegedly found with a gun and drugs.

Engstrom Mattias, 43, attracted the attention of passing cops because of his extravagant clothes decorated with thick gold jewellery.

Officers believed the outfit screamed 'gangster' so they pulled him over for a body search in front of concerned locals on a beach in Pattaya, Thailand, on December 24.

They rummaged through the Swede's 'suspicious' backpack before allegedly finding a sachet of meth in one bag, and a loaded pistol with a boxful of ammunition in another.

Mattias was taken to the Pattaya police station for an interrogation, where he claimed he had picked up the gun and bullets in front of a bar.

Mattias also went through a drug test, which returned positive for an unnamed narcotic substance.

Speaking to police in the video, he says: ‘I found it outside a bar in a plastic bag. I saw a bag, I saw something and I took it.

‘I didn't buy it from anyone. I'm sure I found it in a plastic bag and I took it. I haven't touched it.

‘I found it yesterday, I put it in my bag and I just left it. I don't know the name of the street where I found the bag.'

Police said the man had entered Thailand on December 18 for a holiday.

Officers said he faces charges of possession of an unregistered firearm and ammunition, carrying a firearm in public, and taking an illegal drug.

They are still in discussions with him.

Military top brass from Bangkok have been trying for several years to clean up the notorious 'sex capital' of the world - branded a modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah - to turn it into a family-friendly resort. It has also become a haven for foreign cirminals.

However, officials face an uphill struggle against its entrenched 24-hour sex industry and endemic corruption that allows it to continue unabated. The bars - which function as shop windows for prostitutes - along with massage parlours and street workers are also a lucrative part of the tourism industry, which before the pandemic accounted for 21 percent of Thailand's annual GDP, generating 1.8 trillion baht (52.3 billion USD) in revenue.