Man jumps into shark infested waters to escape police

An American man who leapt into the ocean in an attempt to evade police had no idea he was being trailed by a shark as well as officers.

Zachary Kingsbury ran away from police after officers allegedly found marijuana and methamphetamine in his car during a routine traffic stop in North Carolina on Wednesday.

The 20-year-old thought he would be able to lose officers by leaping into the ocean, but they quickly deployed a drone to find him.

While he was paddling about 1.2km from shore, the drone spotted a shark swimming nearby.

An hour into his swim, Kingsbury remained unaware of the threat lurking metres from him.

"At that point, the operation became a rescue operation," a spokesperson for the Surf City Police Department said.

The US Coast Guard, local fire department and beach police joined the search after the drone lost power and subsequently the visual on Kingsbury.

Three hours after his initial escape, Kingsbury was arrested.

He reportedly had to be convinced to come back to shore.

Kingsbury has now been charged with resisting arrest, obstructing an officer on top of his alleged drug offences.