Secret Service ends probe into cocaine at White House with no suspect

WASHINGTON - The US Secret Service said Thursday that it cannot determine whose cocaine was found in the White House on July 2, and closed its probe into the incident.

The law enforcement agency responsible for protecting US presidents said there were no fingerprints on the small package that contained the cocaine, found in the West Wing lobby.

Nor did surveillance footage provide any leads on who might have placed the cocaine inside a receptacle used for holding the cellphones of people entering the West Wing, it said.

"Without physical evidence, the investigation will not be able to single out a person of interest from the hundreds of individuals who passed through the vestibule where the cocaine was discovered," it said.

"At this time, the Secret Service's investigation is closed due to a lack of physical evidence," it said.

The discovery of an unknown white powder just next to the West Wing lobby last week prompted a brief evacuation amid fears it could be a dangerous chemical or biological material.

But the initial test by the Washington fire department indicated cocaine, and that was later confirmed in a FBI and Homeland Security department examinations.

The revelation that the drug was found prompted a flurry of media speculation who could have left it.

President Joe Biden and his family were away from the White House all that weekend. - AFP