Police have raided a bar allegedly trafficking minors into prostitution in Thailand.

Officers converged on the Club 4 bar in 'Sin City' Pattaya on February 16 following tip-offs that the venue had been employing underage girls for sex work.

Officers launched a sting operation, sending a foreign undercover agent into the go-go bar to gather evidence on the alleged suspected sex traffickers. Police later stormed into the bar and detained the employees.

Inside were dozens of female workers serving drinks to customers. They underwent drug tests, but none were positive for illegal substances.

Authorities arrested club manager Kessirin, 49, for operating the entertainment venue without a license, and a woman named Jidapa, 49, suspected of human trafficking.

Police Colonel Thanapong Photi said: 'We will take legal action against the suspects while we search for the club's owner. We are preparing a report for the Chonburi province governor to propose closing the club for at least five years.'

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

However, they 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.

Some of the most notorious parts of the city are Soi 6, Walking Street, Beach Road and Soi Buakkao.