Missing Centcom laptops found

DOD has recovered two laptop computers that were taken from a 'tightly controlled' area

U.S. Central Command

The Defense Department has recovered two laptop computers that were taken from a "tightly controlled" area of the Tampa, Fla., headquarters of U.S. Central Command, which is spearheading the war in Afghanistan.

Air Force Office of Special Investigations officials said they were holding a man who confessed to removing the laptops, one of which contained classified materials.

Officials said that investigators recovered the laptops from a private residence in the Tampa area. They said that the man in custody was in the military, but they would not identify him.

Furthermore, investigators would not say why somebody would have removed the laptop computers from Central Command.

The laptop computers were reported missing Aug. 7 and were reported to be in a highly secure area of Central Command headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa.

A search for the PCs involved nearly 50 investigators.

The laptop flap occurred just days after a Justice Department audit found that more than 400 of the department's laptop computers were missing or reported stolen.

NEXT STORY: Army sets up battle for WIN-T