Defense Department Contractor Arrested for Allegedly Smuggling Top Secret Documents
A Defense Department contractor has been arrested on charges of illegally removing and retaining classified government documents. Gokhan Gun, an electrical engineer working with the Air Force, is accused of printing over 150 pages of top secret materials and attempting to flee to Mexico, according to a federal court case recently unsealed in Virginia.
Gun was apprehended on Friday morning just as he was about to board a flight to Puerto Vallarta. He was taken into custody by authorities while in a ride-hailing vehicle heading for the airport, The Washington Post reports. In court, Gun appeared bewildered and told the judge, “This is a surprise, sir, for me.” His public defender argued that Gun was not a flight risk and claimed he was traveling to Mexico for a fishing trip.
A subsequent search of Gun’s residence uncovered 155 pages of top secret documents, some of the most sensitive state secrets, which were found stacked in his dining room and stored in a backpack, according to court documents. The contents of the documents have not been disclosed.
Gun faces charges of unauthorized removal and retention of classified material. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The Independent has reached out to Gun’s public defender for additional comment.
Gun, who has been employed with the Air Force since 2020, is reported to have printed a total of approximately 3,400 pages of both classified and non-classified documents. According to The New York Times, he transported the documents out of his office in rolled-up bundles inside plastic shopping bags.
During a voluntary interview with the FBI, Gun denied taking any classified materials home, suggesting that any documents with such classifications might have been outdated. Earlier this week, Gun reportedly printed 406 pages, including 82 marked as top secret, according to the complaint.
This case comes on the heels of another high-profile incident involving classified information. In March, Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira pleaded guilty in federal court to leaking highly classified military documents on the social media platform Discord, which included sensitive assessments of the war in Ukraine.