Czech security service covers up discovery of cocaine in parliament toilets

At the turn of last year, security found drugs in the toilets of the Chamber of Deputies (Czechia's lower house of parliament), although did not pursue the case, according to security spokesperson Tomáš Procházka. Officials did not report the discovery due to the minimal amount of the drug. 

The security guards responsible for monitoring the parliament building noticed suspicious activity in the men's restrooms, which are located near Speaker Markéta Pekarová Adamová’s office. They reported hearing knocking sounds coming from behind the wall at night, and upon investigation, found a piece of paper with white powder. After testing, it was confirmed to be cocaine.

The incident happened in January 2023 – during parts of this month, members of parliament stayed up in the early hours of the morning during a vote of no-confidence in the government.

Parliament security logged the discovery internally but did not inform the Czech police or any politicians. Procházka stated that this was an isolated incident and the security service has not seen anything similar since then. However, it has raised concerns about the safety of the parliament building and the effectiveness of security measures in place.

"Since there was no threat to the safety of the building and no one present was in any danger, there was no need to inform anyone about this finding," said the security service when asked why the case was not reported. Pekarová Adamová says she was unaware of the incident and stated that it falls under the jurisdiction of the security service. 

The event has sparked an investigation and calls for stricter security measures to be implemented in the parliament building. 

This is not the first time traces of cocaine have been found in a parliament building in Europe. In 2005, a German TV station conducted a similar investigation in the European Parliament, with 41 out of 46 bathrooms testing positive for cocaine. This raises concerns about the security and drug use within government buildings.

In summer last year, a member of the public uploaded a picture to the internet of Brno Mayor Markéta Vaňková being handed white powder on a mobile phone with a rolled-up banknote. Vaňková denied taking the drug, submitted a negative narcotics test, and no further action was taken.