Among these misconceptions being repeated: that no Wide Receiver guns “walked” to Mexico because they were all controlled deliveries; that no one was killed; that the Mexican government was fully informed; that RFID tracking devices were placed in all the guns; and that the program was shut down at the first sign of danger.
Gun dealer and writer Mike Detty was a central figure in Wide Receiver, who, in his capacity as confidential informant for ATF, sold 450 rifles and handguns to suspected traffickers. As Paul Barrett reported in Bloomberg Businessweek, “The vast majority of the guns were never recovered by U.S. authorities.” This means control was not maintained on all deliveries, and it is impossible to tell if any people have been killed, and if so, how many. Still, it's crucial to note Detty was told that surveillance would be maintained, and he took great personal risk to assist law enforcement.
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As for the Mexican government being informed, the Businessweek article refers to “fleeting contacts with Mexican police,” and Gun Rights Examiner reported on a Tucson operation “launched out of ATF’s Phoenix field division” in 2007 in which Mexican police said they never saw a car agents on the U.S. side had tracked crossing the border. That said, it appears to have been a different case than Wide Receiver, so this correspondent again queried Detty.
“All I can tell you is what the first prosecutor on OWR told me,” he answered. “A couple years after the case ended we met a gun show. He and his son purchased rifles from me and I handed him a business card.”
“When I mentioned Wide Receiver he knew who I was immediately and we talked over an hour,” Detty recalled. “‘I can't believe those f-ing ATF guys had you selling guns from your house-you're lucky to be alive,’ the prosecutor said. When I asked why OWR was never prosecuted he told me, ‘ATF lied to me about the Mexican's cooperation. I don't mean the field agents you worked with, I mean at a higher level. Once I found out that the case was based on a lie I declined it. Why would I go into court with a case where I have to sacrifice my personal integrity and credibility because ATF lied.’"
Truth about Operation Wide Receiver important to determine - National gun rights | Examiner.com