The unknown “powdery substance” found in the White House on Sunday was in fact cocaine, the Secret Service confirmed in a statement provided to National Review.
The drugs were found within a working area of the West Wing and located within a locker used by employees and guests.
The culprit who placed the cocaine in the locker is unlikely to be found, a law enforcement official involved in the investigation told Politico.
“It’s gonna be very difficult for us to do that because of where it was,” the official said. “Even if there were surveillance cameras, unless you were waving it around, it may not have been caught. It’s a bit of a thoroughfare. People walk by there all the time.”
A local Washington, D.C., firefighter first reported over the radio that a preliminary field test confirmed the presence of cocaine.
“We have a yellow bar saying cocaine hydrochloride,” the firefighter radioed after searching the White House.
“Bag it up and take it out,” he added.
The Secret Service initially did not corroborate the findings and could only note that a search of the property had been conducted.
“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. The DC Fire Department was called to evaluate and quickly determined the item to be non-hazardous,” Guglielmi said in a statement provided to National Review on Tuesday afternoon.
“The item was sent for further evaluation and an investigation into the cause and manner of how it entered the White House is pending,” he continued.
The substance was discovered by the Secret Service on a routine sweep of the White House while President Joe Biden was in Camp David, Md.