Threat Management

Alleged assistant to Silk Road 2.0 operator arrested

An alleged “key player” on the dark web marketplace Silk Road 2.0 was arrested on Tuesday in Washington.

Brian Richard Farrell allegedly worked under the alias “DoctorClu” to provide direct assistance to Blake Benthall, the alleged owner and operator of the online marketplace. The two men, along with a small team, ran the site, a U.S. Department of Justice press release says. Benthall was arrested in November, following the seizure of Silk Road 2.0 and other illicit websites.

Farrell's alleged role in the dark web scheme was to help with day-to-day operations, including approving new staff and vendors on the site and the organization of a denial-of-service attack on a competitor.

Law enforcement carried out a search warrant when arresting Farrell, and in the process, they seized $35,000 in cash, as well as a silver bullion and drug paraphernalia.

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