( CNN ) -- A former Bolivian dictator has been arrested on a charge that he exposed himself to a group of children and has been sent to a drug rehabilitation center , the state-run news agency reported . Former air force Gen. Juan Pereda Asbun , who ruled the South American nation for four months in 1978 , was arrested Tuesday after a father and a group of young people detained him because he tried to get a girl to get into his car after exposing himself to other children , the government 's ABI news service reported Wednesday . After his arrest , authorities said , officers found he was carrying two boxes of cigarettes loaded with cocaine , commonly known as `` pitillos . '' `` After taking his statement , Pereda , who identified himself as an air force general , underwent a series of clinical exams , primarily urine , to determine the extent of drug consumption affecting him , '' said Col. Ruben Suarez , head of the Special Force to Combat Narcotrafficking . The result of the urine test was positive for drugs , Suarez said in a news conference broadcast Wednesday by CNN affiliate Unitel TV . Pereda , 79 , was admitted to a rehab facility to treat a cocaine addiction , ABI said . He also underwent a psychological examination , Suarez said . The cocaine found on the former dictator was for personal use and not for sale or distribution , Suarez said , adding that Pereda had not been linked to any narcotrafficking organization . In a TV interview at the police station , Pereda denied any wrongdoing with the girls . `` I say that it is false , '' Pereda said in the interview , broadcast on Unitel . The silver-haired Pereda said he had not talked with the girls or had any contact with them . `` I do n't know them , '' he said before being led away . Pereda was arrested in Santa Cruz , the largest city in Bolivia , with a population of more than 1.6 million . Neighborhood residents told Unitel they had seen Pereda cruising the area before and that he had previously accosted the girls , who ranged in age from 12 to 14 years old . Pereda ruled from July to November 1978 , taking power after overthrowing dictator Hugo Banzer and losing the presidency in another coup . He has not served in any public capacity since then . Bolivia was ruled by military dictatorships from 1964 to 1982 , with the exception of two brief democratic governments in 1979 and 1980 . The last dictator , Gen. Guido Vildoso , ordered the military back to their barracks in October 1982 and re-established civilian rule . Bolivia is now ruled by democratically elected President Evo Morales , a leftist indigenous politician who has held power since January 2006 .
NEW : The former president denies in a TV interview having contact with the girls . Juan Pereda Asbun exposed himself to a group of children , officials say . He was sent to a drug rehab facility after he was found with cocaine . Pereda ruled Bolivia for four months in 1978 .