Pretty Weird Case

I'm trying to parse this particular case as well as I can because it just seems so generally strange.

The gist of it is that a student (who coincidentally, is half-Egyptian), discovered a tracking device on his car after taking it to a mechanic. After posting pictures of it online, he was accosted leaving his home by the FBI and a number of police in bullet proof jackets, demanding that he return the device to them.

Now here are the things that I find unusual about this (other than the FBI having to show up to ask for their toy back).

1) Evidently the tracking device was an older model that isn't in much use anymore. Unlike newer models, it relies on batteries, thus meaning that it has to be replaced periodically.

2) That the device was found at all is rather strange. According to the former agent interviewed in the story, even these older devices are very well concealed. It's assumed that cars may after all, have to visit mechanics. Generally, people don't see wires sticking out by their wheels.

3) Is it normal protocol to show up at a suspects homes to ask for the return of covert monitoring devices? I would think not. It seems that if a mafioso for example, found a bug, the FBI wouldn't swing by to see if he'd be kind enough to return it. They'd just chalk it up as a loss and leave him to wonder who was listening in on him.

So my first thought was: this seems really incompetent. My second thought however was: this seems improbably incompetent. Using in an old device in a revealed spot and then finally, showing up at his house to explain what they were up to seems to me as though serious, covert tracking of his movements wasn't even a high priority. Harassment however....