The man believed to have filmed Kate Moss snorting cocaine in a sophisticated sting operation has been traced by the Standard.

The 25-year-old, who lives in a council flat in Whitechapel, is an acquaintance of Pete Doher ty, the pop star boyfriend of Moss.

It is alleged he had a spy camera concealed in his jacket at the notorious recording session where the model was caught on film.

But the man's lawyer today moved swiftly to prevent his identity becoming public, threatening the Standard with an injunction.

Moss, 31, who left rehab in the US on Wednesday, is unlikely to be back in Britain until December to face police questioning.

She still faces possible prosecution and could lose custody of her daughter, aged three. A source close to her said modelling work in Paris, New York and Los Angeles would keep her out of the UK for four to five weeks.

With no official request from police to interview her, she is expected to take her time returning to her homes in London and Gloucestershire.

But police say the drugs investigation has now widened after revealing that they believe the supermodel was trapped in the carefully planned sting.

A senior Scotland Yard source said: "The images were not taken with a mobile phone. It was not opportunistic.

"Someone went in there with the specific intention of stitching her up and we are investigating where the cocaine came from and who had the hidden camera.

"We want to question Kate Moss but we are also interested in getting the whole picture."

Police sources told the Standard that the 25-year-old man is one of their chief suspects.

A close friend of Doherty claims he watched as Moss was supplied with cocaine by the Asian man who then secretly filmed her snorting it.

The man is currently facing trial at a crown court in London on allegations of wounding and attempted robbery not related to the drug allegations. When confronted by the Standard at his mother's flat over the allegation that he had filmed Moss, the man replied: "I don't give a f**k."

His lawyer said: "He has not got anything to say about this... He is facing a trial on a different matter."

Police are investigating whether the man was acting alone or with accomplices.

One of his friends - another man who lives in Whitechapel - was also at the studio on the night Moss was caught on camera. Detectives say two men of Asian origin have been caught on CCTV camera coming out of the recording studio, leaving about an hour before the supermodel.

Police will want to discover who invited the men - and why - into the Metropolis studio in Chiswick on the night of 6 September and will examine links with others who may have been involved.

The images were sold, possibly through a middleman, for a six-figure sum to the Daily Mirror. Police want to know why it took nine days for the 45-minute tape to surface. Fractions of it have been seen on Sky television.

The 25-year-old man did not appear in those, fuelling suspicions he was responsible for the filming. The Standard has spoken to several sources, including one of the 14 people in the studio at the time.

He said: "From where this man was standing when Kate was taking drugs, he would have to be in the picture. But he's not. I watched him take the cocaine out of his pocket and start cutting it up and offering Kate a line. It was a big set-up. It is very, very terrible what he has done. He has tricked her into taking the line. There was no cocaine until he introduced it. He completely set Kate up."

The witness added: "I am 100 per cent sure. I didn't take drugs on the night. Kate knows it is this man who set her up.

"I telephoned Kate because I was one of a few people who had come under suspicion. She told me she knew it wasn't me."

The witness admitted he had not seen a camera on the suspect but was convinced it was hidden under his jacket.

Another source said: "I'm sure it's this man. He had a reasonable relationship with Kate so could get very close to her."

A source close to Doherty said: "I don't like pointing the finger at [the suspect] but I have spoken about it to a lot of people who were there."

It is thought audio surveillance equipment may also have been hidden in the studio. Parts of the conversation between Moss and others, publishedin the Mirror, took place before the two men arrived.

Detectives have been in contact with Moss's lawyers and await her return to London to be interviewed.

A file will then be passed to the Crown Prosecution Service to decide if charges should be brought.

The images of Moss snorting cocaine have already seriously damaged her career, prompting the cancellation of millions of pounds worth of contracts, including those with Burberry and H&M.

Doherty has not been interviewed by police but journalists on the Daily Mirror have been. The studio has been searched but no drugs were found.

Doherty's manager, James Mullord, has told the Standard how he was falsely accused of setting up the deal and being a middleman who sold the pictures to the Mirror.

Suspicion fell on him after he admitted buying audio surveillance equipment two weeks before the incident and then went to France and Scotland for several days.

After returning to London, Mr Mullord, 36, denied his involvement. He was not present when the filming took place. He said: "I considered Pete the closest person on the planet other than my mother. I helped get him out of prison. I helped get him over drugs.

"I would never have done this to Pete or Kate. I have done nothing but look after that guy for two years."

He said the surveillance equipment was to trap others in the Doherty camp he feared may have been disloyal.