Australian golfer arrested in Japan for possessing cocaine

Tokyo :

Australian golfer Wayne Perske was arrested early Saturday in Japan on suspicion of cocaine possession, police said.

The 36-year-old professional, in Japan for the Bridgestone Open, is suspected of possessing 1.25 grams (0.044 ounces) of cocaine at a bar in Chiba, southeast of Tokyo, said a spokesman for Chiba Central Police Department.

A customer at the bar late Friday reported to the police that a foreigner had a suspicious substance, leading officers to search and arrest him, a police officer was quoted by Kyodo News as saying.

Perske reportedly admitted to having the drug, telling investigators that he had intended to take it himself.

Perske, who won a Japanese tour event in 2006, lost in the preliminary round of the Bridgestone Open, which began on Thursday, in Chiba.