Silk Road Drug Bust, Arrests in UK, Sweden, US
Authorities are not putting the takedown of the black market bazaar Silk Road into a halt after the arrest of its alleged owner. Sources say that authorities have also started the search for drug dealers who dealt drugs in the web site.
Eight people from the UK, US, and Sweden have been arrested for selling items at Silk Road. Government agencies from the US, UK, and Sweden say those who were arrested are drug dealers.
In the United States, two individuals were arrested for dealing cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin. Steve Sadler, 40, was arrested in Washington and was allegedly one of the site's top sellers. His roommate Jenna White was also arrested for being an accomplica to the crime. Two more people allegedly dealing cannabis were put under arrest in Sweden based on a Helsingborgs Dagblad report.The UK's National Crime Agency also made arrests placing four people in their custody for alleged drug dealing.
Silk Road's URL cannot be found if the TOR browser isn't used, according to experts. This security measure encouraged buyers to buy drugs online. In the web site Silk Road Drugs a header that says "How to find Silk Road Drugs and be safe" can be found along with how to get to the main web site.
The FBI seized the Silk Road web site Wednesday and indicted the 29-year-old owner. Ulbricht is facing charges of narcotics trafficking, money laundering, and computer hacking.
Silk Road, the web site that recently rose to fame because of the arrests, was allegedly a drug marketplace which had 100, 000 users. The web site enabled its users to buy and sell different illegal drugs.
The purchases, according to reports, were paid through Bitcoins and raked in over $1 billion. Since its shutdown, the web site has been given a seizure notice.
The arrests in the three countries caused panic among Silk Road dealers and buyers leading them to discuss Ulbricht's takedown.
In one Reddit forum that started Tuesday, individuals online started asking other users regarding the possibility of arrests being made to SR's buyers.
The director of the National Crime Agency said, "These arrests send a clear message to criminals; the hidden Internet isn't hidden and your anonymous activity isn't anonymous. We know where you are, what you are doing and we will catch you." He added that it is impossible to erase digital footprint.