Alleged operator of Silk Road 2.0 arrested, faces narcotics charges

The alleged operator of Silk Road 2.0, a website used to sell illegal drugs, computer-hacking tools and fraudulent identification documents, has been arrested and will face charges in a U.S. court.

Blake Benthall, 26, was arrested Wednesday in San Francisco and will appear in court there Thursday, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a press release. Benthall has allegedly operated Silk Road 2.0 since December 2013, after U.S. law enforcement officials shut down the original Silk Road just weeks earlier.

The second version of Silk Road was “a nearly identical criminal enterprise” to the first version, Preet Bharara, U.S Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement.

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