No, they were "tipped off" by some Google searches they did at their own desks. There's nothing to suggest that any surveillance of private communications (by

No, they were "tipped off" by some Google searches they did at their own desks. There's nothing to suggest that any surveillance of private communications (by any agencies) had anything to do with the initial investigation. Nor was there anything "high-tech" about the research the investigators did before obtaining their warrants (beyond using Google).