Toledo slammed the report as a rehash of news released last year by his wife,
                  Elaine Karp, after he was briefly kidnapped, drugged and possibly photographed
                  in "comprising positions" in a blackmail attempt.

                  Karp said during the 2000 presidential campaign she suspected that secret agents
                  of former President Alberto Fujimori's fugitive spy chief Vladimiro Montesinos
                  were behind the alleged kidnapping. She said Toledo returned home one day in
                  1998 drugged and disoriented.

                  "Elaine reported my disappearance and we went to the clinic. I went personally, I
                  gave my true identity ... I don't want to be cannon fodder ... let's not fall into
                  dirty tricks," Toledo told a packed news conference.

                  Toledo did not say whether he had a drug test and he never mentioned the word "cocaine" in his
                  statement. The candidate refused to answer questions, irritating reporters who angrily shouted
                  at the candidate as he left the news conference.

                  The candidate did not answer allegations in the Caretas report that he had tried to
                  stop its publication by offering the investigative reporter a job in his campaign team.

                  Rivals criticize Toledo

                  Rival candidates criticized Toledo, questioning his ability to run for president if
                  he was guilty of taking drugs and adding fuel to an election race that has been
                  dominated by personal attacks and allegations of dirty tricks.

                  Toledo, a centrist who says fraud robbed him of victory against Fujimori
                  in 2000 elections, is about 10 points ahead of his nearest rival, Lourdes
                  Flores, and a favorite to win the April 8 vote.

                  Caretas' report adds to the controversy surrounding Toledo, who is already
                  fending off charges he fathered a child 13 years ago with a woman other than
                  his wife but refused to recognize the girl.

                  "The country needs to be sure of the integrity of someone who aspires to be
                  president of the Republic," Caretas said in its editorial.

                  "It is evident that anyone who turns to drugs has a problem of instability and it is
                  a worrying sign" for someone who proposes to run "a government and who
                  must make decisions under huge pressure," Lourdes Flores told CPN radio
                  news.

                  Former President Alan Garcia, who is running in third place, said Toledo's reply
                  to the charges was "evasive."

                  "I do not believe Caretas is lying," Garcia added.

                  Caretas publishes clinic analysis

                  Caretas, which has supported Toledo over the last year, published a Lima clinic
                  analysis showing a positive test for cocaine and published a police report the
                  same day as the test -- Oct. 16, 1998 -- saying there appeared to be no
                  kidnapping.

                  Toledo was quoted as telling police, who said they had tracked Toledo by trailing
                  three women using his bank card, that the kidnapping report stemmed from a
                  "misunderstanding."

                  "I did not file a kidnapping accusation because we had no confidence in the police under
                  Montesinos' rule," Toledo added. "This happened in 1998 and was made public in last
                  year's campaign and I hope this is the last time."

                  Caretas also alleged that Toledo tried to stop the report's publication by offering its
                  investigative reporter, Jimmy Torres, a job in his campaign team to carry out probes of
                  other candidates.

                  "Caretas considers this really deplorable," said the magazine's owner, Enrique Zileri.

                  "Obviously if I had accepted the job it would have meant that the report would not be
                  published," Torres told Reuters.

                  Fujimori won last year's vote, overshadowed by charges of fraud and smear
                  campaigns against rivals such as Toledo. Congress fired Fujimori in November
                  amid corruption scandals.

                  Toledo is popular in Peru for leading street protests against Fujimori and
                  published reports say he has been a victim of harassment and smear campaigns
                  by Fujimori's government.

                  The magazine reported that a sleeping drug was also found in the hospital
                  analysis. Zileri told local Radio programas news there were "still a lot of things to
                  clarify."

                     Copyright 2001 Reuters.