By Michael Kitchen

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) — Chinese officials said Monday they had detained four executives from British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline PLC UK:GSK -0.06% GSK +0.09% in connection with a bribery probe, Dow Jones Newswires reported. The report quoted a senior Chinese security official as saying Glaxo transfered 3 billion Chinese yuan ($489 million) through travel agencies since 2007 and allegedly received bribes from those agencies. Glaxo previously said it was conducting its own investigation into allegations some of its China-based staff had offered bribes to health-care providers in return for prescribing Glaxo products.