My feeling is that this sounds a little like the "Orgy of Evidence" scene in Minority Report crossed with the "Parallel Construction" aspect of the Podesta Bros identikit faces connected to the McCann disappearance. ie: They already have all the evidence via sketchy intel means, so they needed an op where they could conceivably "accidentally on purpose" discover the sort of corroborating evidence they need to move forward into active prosecutions.