Suspicious powder found inside White House was cocaine, tests indicate

Tests on a white powder found inside the White House, sparking its temporary closure on Sunday, have identified the mystery substance as cocaine.

Sources familiar with the matter told the Reuters news agency the powder was found in the West Wing, but did not elaborate.

The West Wing is attached to the executive mansion where US President Joe Biden lives, housing the Oval Office, the cabinet room and press area, and offices and workspace for the president’s staff.

Hundreds of people work in or come through the West Wing regularly. The substance was found in an area accessible to tour groups, not in any particular West Wing office, officials told the Associated Press.

Mr Biden was not in the White House on Sunday. He and his family returned from a weekend at the presidential retreat Camp David on Tuesday morning.

Earlier on Tuesday the Secret Service said an “unknown item” had been found in work space within the West Wing on Sunday during routine rounds, leading to the building’s temporary closure.

“On Sunday evening, the White House complex went into a precautionary closure as officers from the Secret Service Uniformed Division investigated an unknown item found inside a work area,” a Secret Service spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Tests by Washington’s fire department and emergency services later identified the powder as cocaine.

“The DC Fire Department was called to evaluate and quickly determined the item to be non-hazardous,” a Secret Service spokesperson said, adding there was “an investigation into the cause and manner” of how the substance entered the White House.