An unemployed university drop-out has been revealed as the mastermind behind the notorious dark web marketplace Silk Road 2.0.

Thomas White, 24, took over the running of the website after its predecessor was closed down by the FBI in 2013.

White, who left his accounting degree at Liverpool John Moores University after a single term, was acting as an administrator of the Silk Road when it was taken down by the authorities.

But within a month of its shutdown he launched Silk Road 2.0. which like the original site used to technology to allow users to anonymously buy and sell illegal items using bitcoin currency.

As well as drugs, the website acted as a marketplace for child abuse images, firearm, computer hacking tools and other illicit items.

White’s dark web site specialised in supplying class A and B drugs, as well as legal highs.

It is not clear how much money White made but more than £75 million worth of goods were traded on the site before it was shutdown and he was making between one and five percent commission on each sale.

Despite having no legitimate income, White paid £10,700 up front to rent a plush apartment on Liverpool’s city waterfront.