New Zealand police on Saturday revealed bizarre details of the arrest of the suspected kingpin of an Internet copyright theft case against the James Bond-like backdrop of a country mansion hideaway with electronic locks, a safe room and a pink Cadillac.
German national Kim Dotcom, also known as Kim Schmitz, was one of four men arrested on Friday, a day before his 38th birthday, in an investigation of the Megaupload.com website led by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The group was accused of engaging in a scheme that took more than $500 million away from copyright holders and generated over $175 million in proceeds from subscriptions and advertising.
A police official said dozens of officers, backed by helicopters, forced their way into the mansion, nestled in lush, rolling farmland, after Dotcom refused them entry, a scene more reminiscent of a high-octane spy drama than the usual policeman's lot in rural New Zealand.
It was another in a series of international repercussions arising from the shutdown. Megaupload is registered in Hong Kong. Four company employees, including Kim Dotcom—named in the FBI indictment as the company's founder and until last year its chief exectuive—were arrested in Auckland, New Zealand.
In a statement Friday, Customs said "targeting the organised and transnational nature of intellectual property-infringing activities in the wake of technology development, the Hong Kong Customs will continue to monitor the situation and co-operate with the intellectual-property-rights industry and overseas law-enforcement agencies so as to suppress infringing activities effectively.
German national Kim Dotcom, also known as Kim Schmitz, was one of four men arrested on Friday, a day before his 38th birthday, in an investigation of the Megaupload.com website led by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The group was accused of engaging in a scheme that took more than $500 million away from copyright holders and generated over $175 million in proceeds from subscriptions and advertising.
A police official said dozens of officers, backed by helicopters, forced their way into the mansion, nestled in lush, rolling farmland, after Dotcom refused them entry, a scene more reminiscent of a high-octane spy drama than the usual policeman's lot in rural New Zealand.
It was another in a series of international repercussions arising from the shutdown. Megaupload is registered in Hong Kong. Four company employees, including Kim Dotcom—named in the FBI indictment as the company's founder and until last year its chief exectuive—were arrested in Auckland, New Zealand.
In a statement Friday, Customs said "targeting the organised and transnational nature of intellectual property-infringing activities in the wake of technology development, the Hong Kong Customs will continue to monitor the situation and co-operate with the intellectual-property-rights industry and overseas law-enforcement agencies so as to suppress infringing activities effectively.
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