Court finds Kim Dotcom raid illegal

This was the scene of a police raid earlier this year on the New Zealand mansion of Kim Dotcom, founder of Megaupload and suspected kingpin of an internet copyright theft ring.

Seventy police stormed the home and arrested Dotcom, but on Thursday an Auckland court ruled that search warrants used in the raid were illegal.

The German national, also known as Kim Schmitz, said he hoped to have the case against him dropped.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) KIM DOTCOM, MEGAUPLOAD FOUNDER:

"I'm confident that I'm going to win ultimately. I don't know what's going to happen on the way. We have done nothing wrong and we have the evidence to prove that and that's what I'm relying on."

Prosecutors say Dotcom was the ringleader of a group that netted 175 million US dollars since 2005 by copying and distributing content without authorisation.

U.S. authorities are trying to extradite him on charges of copyright theft and money laundering.

Dotcom's lawyers though say the company simply offered online storage and should not be liable for the actions of their users.

Simon Hanna, Reuters.