Cocaine found in the White House: the Secret Service investigates how it got there | International
The White House was briefly evacuated Sunday night while President Joe Biden was at Camp David after the Secret Service discovered suspicious powder in a common area of the West Wing. A preliminary test showed the substance was cocaine, two law enforcement officials said Tuesday.
Secret Service agents were making routine rounds Sunday when they found the white powder in an area accessible to tour groups, not in any particular West Wing office, officials said. The officials were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
The complex was evacuated around 8:45 p.m. Sunday when firefighters and emergency crews were brought in for a rapid test, which preliminarily identified cocaine. The White House was reopened soon after, and the powder was sent for further testing.
Biden and his family left for Camp David on Friday and returned to the White House on Tuesday.
The Secret Service said in a statement that the White House was locked down as a precaution while emergency crews investigated, and that District of Columbia firefighters were called in to test and determine that the substance was not hazardous.
"The item has been sent for further evaluation and an investigation into the cause and manner in which it entered the White House is pending," the Secret Service said.
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