The 16-year-old alleges she was raped by several men who kidnapped her and drove her to Pattaya.

Police said tests confirmed the woman had had recent sexual intercourse.

Initially, the victim told Chon Buri police at Bang Lamung she had been abducted outside a Yaowarat flat in Bangkok late last Saturday night. The group of men then gang raped her during the journey to Pattaya. She said she escaped later by asking to leave the van to use the toilet.

Police spokesman Ronnarong Yangyuen said yesterday the victim knew one of the group of men.

He said they were Cambodian drug dealers and she had left Bangkok willingly to act as a lookout while they sold drugs. He believed the victim was probably raped on the journey to Pattaya but her story to Bang Lamung police may have tried to conceal involvement in drug dealing.

The victim subsequently told city police the suspects drove two vans. She said her boyfriend wanted her to travel to Pattaya with him and the group.

She lied to her mother and left on the trip. When she entered one of the vans she found four other women inside with the suspects. She was blindfolded and raped but escaped next morning.

Metropolitan Police said they would work with Bang Lamung officers to arrest the suspects.