The United States Secret Service has launched an investigation after finding cocaine at the White House on Sunday night.
A quick evacuation was necessary as a result of the finding in the West Wing, which houses the Oval Office as well as other working rooms for presidential advisers and personnel.
Agents from the Secret Service found the suspicious substance during a routine inspection in a place that tour groups might be able to access.
Suspected Cocaine found in White House sparks brief evacuation
When the incident occurred, Vice President Joe Biden and his family were at Camp David in Maryland.
CBS News, a partner of the BBC in the United States, was informed by a senior law enforcement official that the drug was discovered in a storage facility that is commonly used by White House personnel and guests to store mobile phones.
After it was found on Sunday at about 20:45 local time (00:45 GMT), the White House complex was evacuated as a safety measure.
In the end, a preliminary test established that the chemical in question was cocaine.
According to insiders who spoke with CBS, the Secret Service will be in charge of leading a comprehensive investigation into how the intruder entered the White House. They stated that cameras and entrance logs would be investigated in order to figure out who had access to the location where it was discovered.
Cocaine is classified as a Schedule II substance under the Controlled Substances Act, which indicates that the United States Drug Enforcement Administration considers it to have a significant potential for misuse.
The Oval Office and the Situation Room are both located in the West Wing of the White House, which is a huge and multi-level section of the White House that houses the offices of the President of the United States.
Additionally, it serves as the location for the workplaces of the Vice President, the Chief of Staff for the White House, the Press Secretary, and hundreds of other employees who have access.
