[neilk]

Good catch.

Either it's a misstatement from the author, or law enforcement don't want to reveal how they actually caught them.

[gaius]

Which implies parallel construction

[neilk]

I think it's parallel construction iff they submit a false line of evidence to a judge.

It's not illegal to tell tall tales to the press. Maybe they want to protect an informant. Or, maybe they just want to protect some technical dragnet they've set up, for the time being.