The Silk Road Is Now Closed: Website Was Marketplace For Illegal Drugs And More!

Over the weekend I was watching the Drugs Inc. marathon on the National Geographic Channel.  The spotlight various types of illegal drugs and follow the trial from growth/manufacturing to distribution to usage.  One episode was focused on the city of Seattle and just how widespread drug usage is in the city.  A segment of the show focused on a female drug dealer who was supplied via a website called "The Silk Road".  It's what's referred to as a 'dark website' or 'darknet', one not included in search engines, but run through a number of different servers so it cannot be traced.  Perhaps the craziest thing about The Silk Road is that it was set up much like an Amazon or eBay site, where dealers from around the globe sold not only various illegal drugs, but also guns, porn, fake passports, driver's licenses and other documents, as well as illegal service providers, such as hit men, forgers and computer hackers.  Here's a little sampling from The Silk Road's site.

The Silk Road went live in 2011, and was finally shut down by the feds on October 2, 2013 when the alleged website owner Ross William Ulbricht was busted and the site was seized by the Feds.

To me it's insane that a site like this existed for so long without detection by authorities.  It's an interesting story and there's more about "The Silk Road" to be found here, as the Drugs Inc. episode airs again this Sunday July 6th.