Defense Contractor Arrested for Hoarding Highly Classified Documents Before Trip to Mexico

A contractor for the Department of Defense was apprehended on a Friday while in possession of numerous highly classified documents acquired through his security clearance. This arrest occurred as he prepared to embark on a trip to Mexico, according to prosecutors.

Defense Dept Contractor Arrested

The contractor in question, Gokhan Gun, an electrical engineer of Turkish origin, now residing in a Virginia suburb of Washington, is alleged to have printed thousands of documents in his capacity as a worker for the Air Force. While many of the documents were unclassified, a significant number included "batches of documents from the top secret network," as stated in an 11-page complaint unsealed in a Virginia federal court.

Charges have been filed against Mr. Gun for illegally obtaining and retaining national defense secrets. This case is part of a troubling trend observed in recent years, where both military personnel and civilians affiliated with the military have improperly retained military secrets.

In a related development, a young Massachusetts Air National Guardsman, Jack Teixeira, who faced allegations of posting secret intelligence reports online, pleaded guilty to the charges in March. He subsequently accepted a 16-year sentence and agreed to document his activities for the authorities as part of a plea agreement.

Investigating the Motive

Investigators are still working to uncover the reasoning behind Mr. Gun's actions. It is reported that he nonchalantly transported the documents from his office in rolled-up wads packed into plastic shopping bags, as revealed by a law enforcement official briefed on the case.