London: Eva Rausing, wife of one of Britain's richest heirs Hans Kristian Rausing who spent several years living in India as a hippy, has been arrested after she was caught allegedly carrying wraps of cocaine and heroin into the US embassy here.

Hans Rausing, who has inherited a share from his father's 5.4 billion pound Tetra Pak empire, was also arrested after police raided his Chelsea home in southwest London, where drugs worth more than 1,500 pounds were alleged to have been found.

The couple was released on bail until July while police continue their inquiries. Police earlier arrested Eva at the American embassy on Tuesday afternoon after wraps of cocaine and heroin were allegedly found in her handbag by the security staff. She was at the American embassy to attend a function.

However, a spokesman for the US embassy said Eva, who is a US citizen, had not entered the embassy, and had been due there for an appointment. Eva, 44,is the daughter of a Pepsi executive and is a mother to four children. She apologised for the "grave error" she had committed and regretted having taken a "wrong turn" in life.

"I have made a grave error and I consider myself to have taken a wrong turn in the course of my life. I am very sorry for the upset I have caused," she said. Rausing's father, also called Hans, is a Swedish billionaire who built up the 5.4 billion pounds worth Tetra Pak empire with his late brother Gad. He has lived in England since the early 1980s and has donated 500,000 pounds to the Conservatives.

Source : PTI