Policy Observatory

The arrests were part of a joint European and US operation stretching across 17 countries and culminating in the shutdown of over 400 other illicit web sites and services not usually accessible through normal search engines or by typing out standard web addresses. UK police revealed that more British nationals involved in the “dark web” global trade of illegal drugs, forged documents and firearms will be arrested as part of the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) “project protein”.

The suspected mastermind of the online drug emporium Silk Road is facing the prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison after a jury returned a guilty verdict at the end of a four-week trial that revealed a plethora of detail about US investigations into the use of the bitcoin digital currency for drug trafficking and other crimes.

Ross Ulbricht, 30, was convicted on all seven charges which he had faced at Manhattan district court, including drug trafficking, criminal enterprise, aiding and abetting the distribution of drugs over the internet, computer hacking and money laundering.