White House high alert: Cocaine discovery prompts emergency evacuation

An emergency evacuation was triggered at the White House on Sunday evening following the discovery of a white substance that has since tested positive for cocaine, according to US news reports. The discovery was made within a workspace during a routine inspection, stated the US Secret Service. Notably, these premature positive test results were disclosed by the Washington Post, attributing law enforcement sources for this information. Importantly, the incident occurred whilst President Joe Biden and his immediate family were residing at Camp David.

Eventually, the White House complex was sealed off around 8.45pm local time as a preventive measure, after the detection of the unidentified white powder within a workspace located in the West Wing. This part of the incident was disclosed through a statement from Anthony Guglielmi, a representative for the Secret Service, to the BBC.

Guglielmi further made known that the fire department was speedily alerted and was able to determine that the substance was not dangerous. He refrained from authenticating the initial test outcomes, indicating merely that the substance will undergo further examination. He also stated that there is an ongoing investigation which includes probing how the substance was able to infiltrate the White House.

It’s noteworthy that the West Wing of the White House is a considerably large multi-story section, which houses the offices of the president of the United States. This includes the Oval Office and the Situation Room.

Likewise, it is home to the offices of a host of others such as the vice president, the chief of staff for the White House, and the press secretary, in addition to the workplaces for hundreds of other staff granted access.