DR EVIL: MEGA UPLOAD - INTERNNET

Internet's Dr Evil

sprang electronic locks in his 'Bond villain lair'; retreated to safe room as police swooped

  • Kim Dotcom one of four men arrested as part of investigation into  Megaupload website
  • 'It was definitely not as simple as knocking at the front door' says police chief

this is such a facinating story that i had to save it.  the power of the internet

By Anthony Bond

Last updated at 3:51 PM on 22nd January 2012

It sounds like something more reminiscent of a James Bond film than real life.

When police officers attempted to arrest the man accused of being one of the world's biggest internet pirates at his multi-million pound mansion, things were a bit trickier than they might have expected.

Instead of giving himself up easily, Kim Dotcom refused to let the police in, activated a number of locking mechanisms in his sprawling home and then hid in a safe room.

James Bond hideaway: Kim Dotcom's sprawling mansion in Coatesville, north west of Auckland, can be seen in this image. Police today revealed the extraordinary details behind the arrest of the multi-millionaire

James Bond hideaway: Kim Dotcom's sprawling mansion in Coatesville, north west of Auckland, can be seen in this image. Police today revealed the extraordinary details behind the arrest of the multi-millionaire

Secure: Dozens of police officers, backed by helicopters, had to force their way into the mansion after Mr Dotcom refused to let them in. He then activated locking mechanisms and hid in a safe room

Secure: Dozens of police officers, backed by helicopters, had to force their way into the mansion after Mr Dotcom refused to let them in. He then activated locking mechanisms and hid in a safe room

The determined police officers had to cut their way through to gain access and then found Mr Dotcom hiding with a gun.

Fortunately, thanks to dozens of police officers, backed by helicopters, they managed to detain the 38-year-old without anyone coming to harm.

Mr Dotcom, a German national, was one of four men arrested on Friday as part of an investigation of the Megaupload.com website.

 

The group has been 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.

The extraordinary details behind the arrest were revealed by police in New Zealand today.

Detective Inspector Grant Wormald, from the Organised and Financial Crime Agency, said: 'Despite our staff clearly identifying themselves, Mr Dotcom retreated into the house and activated a number of electronic-locking mechanisms.'

Damage: A broken intercom system can be seen in this image after the police raid at Dotcom Mansion

Damage: A broken intercom system can be seen in this image after the police raid at Dotcom Mansion

Held: Kim Dotcom, formerly known as Kim Schmitz and also known as Kim Tim Jim Vestor, was arrested along with three other executives of Megauploads

Held: Kim Dotcom, formerly known as Kim Schmitz and also known as Kim Tim Jim Vestor, was arrested along with three other executives of Megauploads

Officers were forced to break the locks but soon realised that Mr Dotcom had barricaded himself into the safe room. 

'Once they gained entry into this room, they found Mr Dotcom near a firearm which had the appearance of a shortened shotgun,' said Mr Wormald.

'It was definitely not as simple as knocking at the front door.'        

Two firearms were seized and a 55-year-old New Zealand man has since been charged with illegal possession of a pistol.

Computers and documents were also retrieved and more than $8 million was seized from financial institutions.     

Luxury: The property in Coatesville, near Auckland, New Zealand, which was raided today as part of the operation against the founder and executives of file-sharing site Megaupload.com

Luxury: The property has a number of locking mechanisms and a safe room

Confiscated: Tow trucks wait to remove vehicles from Kim Dotcom's house

Confiscated: Tow trucks wait to remove vehicles from Kim Dotcom's house

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

The house where Mr Dotcom - also known as Kim Schmitz -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.        

Mr Dotcom leased the property after being blocked from buying it last year by the government after failing to meet a 'good character' test for migrants, although he was granted residency in 2010. 

He has previous convictions for insider trading and embezzlement from his time in Germany and Thailand, according to immigration authorities, leading some opposition politicians to question why he was allowed to settle in the first place.      

'New Zealand is under the radar, away from Interpol and a better lifestyle than Eastern Europe,' said Jeffrey Carr, an Internet security expert.

Seized: A number of cars belonging to Schmitz including this pink Cadillac were taken away by authorities

Seized: A number of cars belonging to Kim Dotcom including this pink Cadillac were taken away by authorities

Confiscated: Others cars including a collection of Mercedes vehicles were removed from the Schmitz's home

Time to go: Others cars including a collection of Mercedes vehicles were removed from Kim Dotcom's home

'They obviously weren't aware how closely the FBI has been building its international relationships over the past few years.'    

The FBI said Mr Dotcom personally made $42 million from Megaupload in 2010 alone.      

Standing 6ft 7Inches tall, Mr Dotcom appeared to revel in his outlaw reputation.           

Personalized number plates on some 20 vehicles seized from the site included KIMCOM, HACKER, STONED, GUILTY, MAFIA, GOD and POLICE, according to the indictment.              

One video on YouTube shows him racing a Mercedes in the Gumball 3000 road rally and talking about bribing a Moroccan official.      

Another clip shows a 2011 New Year's Eve fireworks display over Auckland organized and paid for by Mr Dotcom to celebrate his family being granted residency.

The display was reported to have cost $500,000.         

The arrests were made as the debate over online piracy reaches fever pitch in Washington where Congress is trying to craft tougher legislation.     

In the dock: Megaupload executive Bram van der Kolk, left, Finn Batato, second from left, Mathias Ortmann and founder, former CEO and current chief innovation officer Kim Dotcom, right, appear in North Shore District Court in Auckland, New Zealand

In the dock: Megaupload executive Bram van der Kolk, left, Finn Batato, second from left, Mathias Ortmann and founder, former CEO and current chief innovation officer Kim Dotcom, right, appear in North Shore District Court in Auckland, New Zealand

Living the high life: Enjoying the sun of the Virgin Islands with a mystery woman

Living the high life: Kim Dotcom enjoying the sun of the Virgin Islands with a mystery woman

Lawmakers stopped anti-piracy legislation on Friday, postponing a critical vote in a victory for Internet companies that staged a mass online protest against the fast-moving bills.    

The movie and music industries want Congress to crack down on Internet piracy and content theft, but major Internet companies like Google and Facebook have complained that current drafts of the legislation would lead to censorship.     

Mr Dotcom and the other men made a brief court appearance on Friday and will appear again on Monday. They face extradition and a trial in the U.S.        

On Friday, in a show of support, hackers attacked and temporarily disabled a number of government and entertainment company websites, including the U.S. Justice Department's website.    

U.S. Justice Department officials have said that the estimate of $500 million in economic harm to copyright holders cited in a U.S. indictment was at the low end.            

The allegations included copyright infringement as well as conspiracy to commit copyright infringement, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit racketeering. Two of the offences carry a maximum penalty of 20 years. 

The companies charged, Megaupload Ltd and Vestor Ltd, were both registered in Hong Kong and owned either in large part or solely by Mr Dotcom. 

About 100 officers raided four premises in Hong Kong on Friday including luxury hotel rooms, seizing computer equipment and freezing $42.5 million in financial assets, according to Hong Kong Customs.           

Megaupload has boasted of having more than 150 million registered users and 50 million daily visitors, according to the indictment.

At one point, it was estimated to be the 13th most frequently visited website on the Internet.         

Users could upload material to the company's sites which then would create a link that could be distributed.

The sites, which included video, music and pornography, did not provide search capabilities but rather relied on others to publish the links, the U.S. indictment said.

Megaupload's U.S. lawyer said the company would 'vigorously defend itself' and was trying to recover its servers and get back online.      

The Megaupload group used more than 1,500 computer servers in Virginia, Washington D.C., France and the Netherlands to host its sites, according to the FBI.         

 

Here's what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

Mr Dotcom? Hardly a 'dot' is he?!

Click to rate     Rating   151

Obviously he was enjoying the fruits ( plus other food) of his enterprise!!!!!!!!

Click to rate     Rating   123

Im guessing he never walked around his house,.....or swam in the pool.

Click to rate     Rating   149

Seems like he has eaten most of his fortune.

Click to rate     Rating   163

I hate treaty's

Click to rate     Rating   14

Is Dotcom his real name, if it is that is funny!

Click to rate     Rating   100

The myth of Internet piracy and the invisible "millions" being lost strikes again. While sites like Megaupload are certainly complicit in passing around copyrighted materials it is a small fraction compared to the billions being lost by an out-of-date industry unable to understand or compete with new technologies. These lawsuits and new laws are the result of a terrified industry trying to sue it's way back to profitability because it is unable - or unwilling - to adapt.

Click to rate     Rating   410

The USA barks, and the rest of the world rolls over and begs. The have already decided he's guilty.

Click to rate     Rating   242

regardless of what USA politicians ask UK media to print, I still cant believe. All this bad media publicity is just to give them a bad name.

Click to rate     Rating   43

Reckon I'll give 'cloud' computing a miss when USA uses enabling powers to capriciously sizes assets in sovereign nations.

Click to rate     Rating   110
Brophy Sunday 22 January 2012 - 11:24 am | | Brophy Blog

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