The 26-year-old was arrested on Friday on a charge of conspiracy to distribute heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine in connection with his alleged role as a staff member for the Silk Road 2.0 website

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

US authorities announced charges on Tuesday against a Washington state man, Brian Farrell, who they say assisted in the management of the successor website to Silk Road, an online black marketplace where drugs and other illicit goods could be bought with Bitcoin, the digital currency.

Farrell, 26, was arrested late on Friday on a charge of conspiracy to distribute heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine in connection with a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Seattle that outlined his alleged role as a staff member for the Silk Road 2.0 website.

Farrell’s arrest came as a trial continued in New York federal court in the case of Ross Ulbricht, the alleged operator of the original Silk Road, which authorities say Ulbricht ran under the alias “Dread Pirate Roberts”.

Silk Road 2.0 was launched late in 2013, weeks after authorities had shuttered the original Silk Road website and arrested Ulbricht. Like the original website, Silk Road 2.0 allowed users to anonymously buy and sell drugs, computer hacking tools and other illicit items, authorities said.

In November, federal authorities in Manhattan announced they had shut down Silk Road 2.0 and arrested its alleged operator, Blake Benthall, who prosecutors say operated the website under the name “Defcon”.

Prosecutors say Farrell was a key assistant to Benthall and was part of a small staff of online administrators and forum moderators, using the moniker “DoctorClu”.

Earlier this month, US authorities executed a search warrant on his residence in Bellevue, Washington, and interviewed Farrell, the complaint said. After being confronted with the fact that an IP address for the residence was linked to Silk Road 2.0, Farrell said he worked as Defcon’s right hand man and served as his spokesman, the complaint said.

A lawyer for Farrell could not be reached for comment. Benthall’s lawyer declined comment.