This is the dramatic moment a Buddhist monk accused of trafficking meth fled from cops in a drug bust in Thailand.

Chaiwat Bamrungchart, 42, was allegedly delivering narcotics when undercover agents swooped in to arrest him in a sting operation in 'Sin City' Pattaya.

Footage shows the newly ordained monk bolting as he was surrounded by plainclothes cops on November 14. He tried to scramble up a concrete wall but was detained by the officers.

Chaiwat allegedly confessed to distributing drugs, and asked to disrobe at the Wat Nalik Wanaram temple before being hauled to the police station.

Three other suspected members of the drug network were caught in the crime-ridden resort town.

They were identified as Chaisukkoson, 35, Yuranun Aunsri, 38, and Suriyan Chanchana, 39, who were caught with crystal meth and meth pills in the Nong Prue and Bang Lamung districts.

Police said 204.7 grams of crystal meth and 94 meth pills were seized in the crackdown.

Patcharaphat Srithanyanon, Bang Lamung district chief, said the arrests followed investigations into a drug trafficking ring reportedly linked to the Wat Nalik Wanaram temple in the area.

He added: ‘We interrogated the suspects to expand our investigation and handed them, along with the seized items, to the inquiry officers in their jurisdiction for further legal action.'

An estimated 93.4 per cent of the Thai population is Buddhist, with some 45,000 temples across Thailand, according to the National Office of Buddhism.

However, public trust in the country's Buddhist order has eroded in recent years following a string of scandals involving sex, illegal drugs, and corruption.

In July, numerous top monks were implicated in a femme fatale seduction, where seductress Wirawan Emsawat allegedly seduced the religious leaders to gain access to temple donations. She was said to have stolen a staggering 385 million baht (9 million GBP), which she used to fund her gambling habit, before being arrested on July 15.

Thailand has become a notorious hub for drug production and trafficking. In the north of the country, the ‘Golden Triangle' area shares borders with Laos and Myanmar, and has produced large amounts of opium since the 1950s but focus in recent years has shifted to the more profitable methamphetamine.

Officials believe most of the meth is produced in the Shan State of Myanmar before being distributed through neighbouring countries where prices are higher before ending up in the most expensive markets of Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore.

However, cracking down on drug production has been complicated by the influx of crime gangs from China and the Burmese civil war, which has seen the army take over the country - along with control of lucrative drugs chains.