Exclusive: Inside the World of a Silk Road Drug Dealer

Cannabis

The Internet’s most popular drug marketplace is down for the count

The FBI seized and shut down Silk Road and arrested its alleged founder, Ross William Ulbricht (previously known as “Dread Pirate Roberts”), on Tuesday. Prior to that, Silk Road operated in relative plain view for more than two years. The site used privacy software like Tor, which allows for anonymous Internet browsing, and the virtual currency Bitcoin in an attempt to make its users’ transactions and identities untraceable.

Over the past few months, Mashable communicated with several Silk Road vendors to gain an understanding of the site’s inner workings. Most dealers we contacted did not respond — all but two. One told us in great detail about his or her experience with Silk Road but would not let us quote from the interaction. The other, a user named “Angelina,” agreed to an online interview. Read more…

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