US Shuts Down Silk Road 2.0 Website, Charges Alleged Owner

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US authorities said Thursday they have shut down the successor website to Silk Road, an underground online drug marketplace, and charged its alleged operator with conspiracy to commit drug trafficking, computer hacking, money laundering and other crimes.

Blake Benthall, 26, was arrested on Wednesday in San Francisco and was expected to make an initial court appearance in federal court there later on Thursday.

US Shuts Down Silk Road 2.0 Website, Charges Alleged Owner

The charges against Benthall carry a maximum sentence of life in prison. A lawyer for Benthall could not immediately be identified.Silk Road 2.0 was launched late last year, weeks after authorities had shuttered the original Silk Road website in October and arrested its alleged owner, Ross Ulbricht, who went by the online alias, Dread Pirate Roberts.

Sourece:https://gadgets.ndtv.com/internet/news/us-shuts-down-silk-road-20-website-charges-alleged-owner-617382