US Secret Service tapes lost on subway train, probe launched

An investigation has been launched over a set of lost top secret tapes containing important classified information, which was reportedly left by a US Secret Service official in a Washington subway train in 2008, according to a report.

Law enforcement and congressional sources have said a contractor working for the US Secret Service accidentally left a pouch containing two computer backup tapes on a train in Washington''s Metrorail subway system.

The tapes apparently contained very sensitive Secret Service personnel and investigative information, and if accessed could be highly damaging, CNN reports.

According to the report, the contractor was transporting the pouch from Secret Service headquarters in Washington to a now-closed data facility in Maryland. Sources say the contractor got off a Metro train, and later realized the pouch had been left behind.

After the mishap, the Secret Service and the Metro police were contacted, and an aggressive search took place, but a source close to the matter confirmed that the tapes have still not been recovered, the report said.

The incident, which occurred nearly five years ago, in February 2008, is now the subject of an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security''s Office of Inspector General, according to a congressional source.

The Secret Service has said that no lives were put at risk, and no fraud was committed as a result of the loss, the report said.

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