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
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.
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
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The determined police officers had to cut their way through to gain access and then found Mr Dotcom hiding near 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.'
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.'
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
