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of $2500. FBI agents had been carrying out similar projects since beginning the investigation in March 2010, the indictment read.

The FBI also pointed to the speed with which illegal downloads happened, and the way in which they threatened the staggered release system the studios used. The indictment pointed to new releases available on Megaupload before becoming available (other than at movie theatres) in the United States. The Green Hornet was made available on 29 April 2011 after a release at theatres three months earlier. It would not be commercially distributed until 3 May. Thor was made available on Megaupload on 13 May, just a week after it was released in theatres. It would not be commercially distributed in the US until September. Then, on 20 November, the FBI said, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1 turned up on Megaupload. It was two days ahead of its release in theatres. By the time the raid happened, it was still not available commercially for hire or purchase.

The indictment operated on the premise the entire business was illegal. It meant everything attached to the business was a criminal act. It also meant the business itself was not a business — it was, as the FBI coined the phrase, a “Mega Conspiracy”. Released publicly, the contents caused a feeding frenzy among media sharks. Not only were there the compelling internal emails from Megaupload, but it detailed the luxury items with which Dotcom filled his life, from cars and electronica to the nine-foot tall statue of the Predator. A statue of the Hooded Man was another feature piece at the house.

It provided the perfect framing for the image of an internet age Bond villain, surrounded by the ultimate in geek chic.

THE INDICTMENT WASN’T the only information setting the tone for coverage of the raid. With Dotcom and the others under arrest, the New Zealand Police responded to public interest in their role by talking about Dotcom’s wealth and the dangers involved in carrying out the mission. Its press release highlighted Dotcom’s vehicle collection, “A total of 18 luxury vehicles have been restrained and placed in the control of the Official Assignee. These vehicles include several top end Mercedes, a Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe and a 1959 pink Cadillac.” The details were digested and regurgitated again and again by media in the days and weeks ahead.

The police press release also emphasised the difficulty and danger encountered in the raid. The officer in command of the raid for NZ Police was Detective Inspector Grant Wormald, deputy director of the

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