Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
Investigators have struggled for two years to stop an online, underground marketplace from selling more than $1 billion in cocaine, heroin, ecstasy and other illicit drugs in exchange for a virtual currency called Bitcoin, The Verge reports.
But now it appears the FBI has snagged the mastermind, Ross Ulbricht, who is being charged with narcotics trafficking, money laundering and computer hacking.
The site, called Silk Road, was only accessible through a special network.
According to The Verge, law enforcement bought more than 100 packages of drugs and had them sampled.
“Samples of these purchases have been laboratory-tested, and have typically shown high purity levels of the drug the item was advertised to be on Silk Road, FBI Agent Christopher Tarbell told The Verge.
