FBI Shutters Silk Road Black Market
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Per Forbes:
"Even during a federal government shutdown, drug pirates aren’t safe. Popular online black market Silk Road has been shut down by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and an individual alleged to be its infamous owner, ‘Dread Pirate Roberts,’ has been arrested, according to a Federal Bureau of Investigation complaint.
"Ross William Ulbricht, allegedly the ‘Dread Pirate Roberts’ owner of Silk Road, was arrested in San Francisco on Tues. at 3:15pm PT at a public library and his popular site shut down."
***
"The FBI calls Silk Road in the complaint “the most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplace on the Internet today,” used by several thousand drug dealers and with revenue of over 9.5 million Bitcoins to date, which the FBI approximates as worth $1.2 billion in sales. (Bitcoin values fluctuate widely over time, making any comparison difficult.)
"Ulbricht has been charged with one count each of narcotics trafficking conspiracy, computer hacking conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. In perhaps the most surprising instance in the FBI complaint, the government alleges that DPR even used his site to try to arrange an assassination.
"Ulbricht allegedly paid a bounty of 1,670 Bitcoins, about $150,000, to put out a murder hit on a Silk Road user seeking to extort him. Ulbricht was told that the crime had been carried out, although the FBI could not confirm any person was actually killed."
***
"The Silk Road didn’t just sell drugs. The FBI says listings also offered social media hacks, illegal contact lists, currency and firearms.
"It appears that looking to purchase identification may have been that unnecessary chance that has put an end to the current DPR’s run, but there were other holes in the system. FORBES also purchased marijuana over the Silk Road market and found its purchases could be traced."
Full article after the jump...
"Even during a federal government shutdown, drug pirates aren’t safe. Popular online black market Silk Road has been shut down by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and an individual alleged to be its infamous owner, ‘Dread Pirate Roberts,’ has been arrested, according to a Federal Bureau of Investigation complaint.
"Ross William Ulbricht, allegedly the ‘Dread Pirate Roberts’ owner of Silk Road, was arrested in San Francisco on Tues. at 3:15pm PT at a public library and his popular site shut down."
***
"The FBI calls Silk Road in the complaint “the most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplace on the Internet today,” used by several thousand drug dealers and with revenue of over 9.5 million Bitcoins to date, which the FBI approximates as worth $1.2 billion in sales. (Bitcoin values fluctuate widely over time, making any comparison difficult.)
"Ulbricht has been charged with one count each of narcotics trafficking conspiracy, computer hacking conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. In perhaps the most surprising instance in the FBI complaint, the government alleges that DPR even used his site to try to arrange an assassination.
"Ulbricht allegedly paid a bounty of 1,670 Bitcoins, about $150,000, to put out a murder hit on a Silk Road user seeking to extort him. Ulbricht was told that the crime had been carried out, although the FBI could not confirm any person was actually killed."
***
"The Silk Road didn’t just sell drugs. The FBI says listings also offered social media hacks, illegal contact lists, currency and firearms.
"It appears that looking to purchase identification may have been that unnecessary chance that has put an end to the current DPR’s run, but there were other holes in the system. FORBES also purchased marijuana over the Silk Road market and found its purchases could be traced."
Full article after the jump...