Feds Name 4 Suspects Linked To Gunwalker

Authorities made a rare disclosure Monday linked to the botched gun-smuggling investigation known as Operation Fast and Furious aka Gunwalker, revealing the identities of and requesting the public’s help in capturing four fugitives accused in the shooting death of a U.S. Border Patrol agent 18 months ago.

The announcement comes in the wake of pressure from U.S. House Republicans who led a vote to hold Attorney General Herr Erich Holder in contempt of Congress, criticizing the nation’s top prosecutor for withholding information related to the probe.

“We believe it’s in the best interest of this ongoing investigation to unseal the case at this point in time and to enlist the assistance of the general publics in both Mexico and the United States,” said federal prosecutor Laura Duffy.

Operation Fast and Furious was launched in 2009 to catch trafficking kingpins, but federal agents lost track of most of the weapons they were trying to trace. Some of the guns purchased illegally with the government’s knowledge were later found at crime scenes in Mexico and the U.S.

Critics have hammered federal authorities for allowing informants to walk away from Phoenix-area gun shops with weapons, rather than immediately arresting suspects and seizing firearms.

Since the fatal shootout near the U.S.-Mexico line in December 2010, deep flaws in the government’s weapons trafficking case have come to light, and federal authorities have repeatedly declined to disclose information related to the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, such as what became of the gun used to kill him.-[source]