The Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) sought assurances from police that Kim Dotcom and his co-accused were foreign nationals, court documents reveal.
[...]
Organised and Financial Crime Agency New Zealand (OFCANZ) wrongly told GCSB agents the pair were foreigners.
OFCANZ asked the GCSB to glean information relevant to ''location, awareness on the part of the wanted person of law enforcement interest in them, or any information indicating risk factors in effecting any arrest.''
The documents state "GCSB sought assurance that all the persons of interest were foreign nationals. OFCANZ gave that assurance".
The advice on the immigration status of Dotcom and Van der Volk was ''incorrect.''
So, at the least we have serious incompetence on the part of both the police and the GCSB - the police for not knowing Dotcom's immigration status (that $500,000 fireworks display should have given it away), and the GCSB for not checking. More worringly is the possibility that the police deliberately lied to get the intelligence they wanted. Neither is acceptable.
And again, we should all be very curious about how often the police ask GCSB for help - because it seems that at least one of these things (location) is something the police would normally need a warrant for, and that the use of GCSB allowed them to bypass that safeguard.