Drug info - Kate Moss helps fuel cocaine war, says Colombian leader

[Abrad]

www.telegraph.co.uk


Kate Moss "Baffling"
Colombia's vice-president accused celebrity cocaine users yesterday of fuelling conflict in his country.

Francisco Santos, who launched his cocaine curse campaign, reserved particular criticism for the British model Kate Moss.

Mr Santos said consumption of the drug in Europe fuelled the finances of rebels in Colombia.

It was "baffling" that Moss had won modelling contracts after admitting she had a cocaine problem and checked herself into a rehabilitation clinic for a month last year.

"To me it's baffling, that somebody who helps cause so much pain in Colombia is doing better than ever and winning more contracts than ever," he said.

"And I never once heard her say, 'I'm sorry'. When in Colombia, policemen, judges, journalists, common men and women are dying every day because of cocaine consumption, that hurts."

Moss lost several contracts after she was photographed allegedly taking cocaine. No criminal charges were brought against Moss and she publicly "accepted responsibility" for the scandal.

She has since secured several lucrative contracts and has been hired as a designer for Top Shop.

The logo of the Colombian campaign is: "Cocaine not only destroys you, it also destroys a country". It is hoped that it will raise awareness about the effects the narcotics trade is having on Colombia as it enters its 44th year of civil conflict.

The warring factions, among them the Marxist guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), are estimated to earn more than £2 billion a year from illegal drugs, providing fuel for the violence.

"We need to tell Europeans that that line of coke they snort is tainted in blood," Mr Santos said. His message was brutally reinforced yesterday when more than 400 FARC guerrillas took over the town of Tierradentro in Cordoba.

The rebels killed 16 policemen along with a civilian, while six members of the security forces were missing.

The Colombian drug cartels have been increasingly targeting Europe.

Last night a spokesman for Miss Moss was unavailable for comment.