A former crown prince of Nepal has been arrested in Phuket and charged with possession of marijuana.

Police confirmed a story in the Himalayan Times newspaper on Tuesday that Paras Shah had spent a night in jail in Phuket on Oct 23 on a charge of possessing an illegal drug.

The former crown prince was later released on bail of 10,000 baht, it added.

A senior police officer in Phuket told the Bangkok Post the report was true, adding that the former crown prince was arrested with a woman at a hotel in the resort island. He did not identify the woman.

The officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Phuket police had been called by the hotel to break up a quarrel between a man and a woman and they found the drugs while mediating the dispute. The man turned out to be a former crown prince from Nepal, he added.

The woman confessed to the police but the former crown prince decided to fight the charge, the officer said.

The Himalayan Times said the Nepalese embassy in Bangkok was informed about the case on Oct 27. The Nepalese embassy and Thai embassy in Nepal "have remained mum over this matter," it added.