Cocaine Found in White House: Security Alert and Investigation Unveiled

2023-07-05 22:56:34

White House (expressive)

The powder was found in the West Wing Sunday, and it was treated as a potential hazard that required a short-term evacuation.

Posted on: July 05, 2023: 11:16 PM GST Last updated: July 06, 2023: 02:56 AM GST

The Secret Service announced on Wednesday that a white powder was found in the White House and called a short-term security alert, which turned out to be cocaine.

The powder was found in the West Wing on Sunday, and it was treated as a potential danger that required a short-term evacuation.

A preliminary analysis of the substance, conducted by the Washington DC Fire Service, concluded that the substance appears to be cocaine and is not a threat of some kind or a specific attack.

Security alert in the vicinity of the White House, Sunday, after the white powder was found

The discovery of the white powder sparked speculation in the US media about the identity of the person who left it behind.

President Joe Biden and his family have been out of the White House all weekend.

“It has just been confirmed that the substance found is cocaine, and our investigation is ongoing,” said Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the Secret Service that protects El-Obeid.

According to US media reports, cocaine was found on the ground floor of the West Wing, which includes the Oval Office and other key facilities. Reports indicated that the substance was found in an area where groups visiting the presidential residence are told to leave their phones for security reasons.

The White House sought to contain the unusual news after it became clear that the drugs were found in a building where security is among the most stringent in the world.

The White House declared that, at least, circumstantial evidence indicated that the responsibility lay with a visitor, and not with anyone connected to the Biden family.

White House spokeswoman Karen Jean-Pierre said that the drugs were found in a place usually used by visitors who come to the presidential residence at the invitation of his staff to inspect the western wing, which includes the Oval Office.

Before entering sensitive sections of the complex, visitors are required to leave their mobile phones in lockers, which is where the drugs were found.

“It’s a very busy area with many visitors to the White House and the West Wing,” Jean-Pierre said. She said that tours of this kind were organized on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays last week.

Later, Jean-Pierre stressed that the president’s family was not in the White House at the time.

“The president and first lady and their family weren’t here over the weekend,” she said. “They left on Friday and didn’t return until yesterday.”

She also said Biden had been briefed and stressed that all White House staff were subject to “strict guidelines, including drug testing.” “We certainly take that very seriously,” she added.