THE SECRET SERVICE in the US is investigating the discovery of cocaine in the White House, according to local media reports.

The White House was temporarily shut down on Sunday evening after a substance was found in a shared storage area that subsequently tested positive for cocaine.

The Washington DC fire department was called in to evaluate the substance and determine whether it was hazardous.

The Secret Service, the federal agency tasked with protecting the American president and other political leaders, is leading a review into how the substance came to be in the White House.

CBS reports that cameras and entrance logs will be consulted to determine who could access the space, which was a storage facility in the West Wing used often by staff and guests to hold mobile phones.

A spokesperson for the Secret Service said in a statement that “the item was sent for further evaluation and an investigation into the cause and manner of how it entered the White House is pending”.

President Joe Biden was not at the White House at the time the substance was discovered.

He had been at a secondary residence used by presidents called Camp David, which is around 100km away, since Friday and returned to the White House yesterday.