The Rausings, U.K. billionaires, had drug issues

(AP) LONDON - When Eva Rausing approached the heavily guarded U.S. Embassy in London's Grosvenor Square four years ago to deal with a routine passport matter, she had to pass through British security, then face an airport-style metal detector so she and her handbag could be scanned for weapons and contraband.

The wealthy American didn't leave her stash at home. She tried to pass the security scan with small amounts of crack cocaine, heroin and a banned stimulant in her purse.

The subsequent arrest led police to search the multimillion-dollar property she shared with her husband, Tetra Pak heir Hans Kristian Rausing. Police found still more drugs, including a sizeable amount of cocaine.

Charges were dropped in exchange for a formal police warning, but the arrest made public what close family and friends already knew: The golden couple, with untold riches, were deeply mired in drug addiction even as they gave millions to numerous anti-addiction charities.

Their sad tale reached its climax this week when the 48-year-old Eva Rausing was found dead in their home and her husband arrested for questioning about drug use and placed in hospital care. The cause of Eva Rausing's death has not yet been established.

Drugs. A scourge for the poor, for the middle class and even for the super-rich, those who, like the Rausings, measure their net worth in the billions.

"Addiction doesn't know any class boundaries," said Amanda Thomson, spokeswoman for Action on Addiction, one of many charities the Rausings supported even as they swooned toward drugged-out oblivion.

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Eva Rausing was born into a wealthy American family headed by former Pepsi executive Tom Kemeny, and her husband was an heir to the formidable Tetra Pak fortune his father and his family have a spot on Britain's "Rich List" with a net worth estimated at $6.7 billion.

The money came from his family's development of a better milk carton one that could be packed and shipped like bricks, easing the distribution of milk and juices throughout the world.

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The Rausings, U.K. billionaires, had drug issues