Police on Thursday said they have arrested a British DJ, 52, on charges of smuggling in drugs to South Korea and handing them over to the executives of a local pharmaceutical company.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said the DJ, whose identity was withheld, is suspected of bringing in a total of 3.78 liters of gamma hydroxybutyrate, a banned substance also known as a "date rape drug," over four times between January and June. 

The amount, worth some 370 million won ($340,000), is enough for 1,000 people to take at once, according to police.

The DJ was arrested at Incheon International Airport in late June on his fourth attempt to smuggle the banned substance disguised as a bottle of water and has been put under detention.

A chief of a local pharmaceutical company, identified only by his surname Choi, and his twin brother, who also works as an executive of the company, were booked without detention for habitually taking the drugs.

The British suspect has been denying the allegations raised, saying he did not know the bottle was filled with drugs, according to police.

Police allege that Choi, 52, and his brother funded all the expenses for the DJ's trip to South Korea, after first meeting him in the United States in 2012. 

The 52-year-old DJ, who has been featured on a Grammy-nominated album, currently lives in Los Angeles.

Police are investigating whether the DJ distributed the drugs to other people, in addition to Choi and his brother. (Yonhap)