Sunday, January 22, 2012

Kingpin of international copyright theft arrested in New Zealand

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.
Television footage showed vehicles, including a pink Cadillac and a Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe, being removed from the property.

The house where Dotcom was arrested was one of the largest and most expensive in the country, worth around NZ$30 million. Located in hills northwest of New Zealand’s largest city, the mansion is surrounded — at suitably discreet distances — by other substantial country homes and luxury lifestyle blocks complete with stables, swimming pools and tennis courts.

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