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Copycat drug souk Silk Road 2.0: Another man cuffed

Site had been generating $8m in sales PER MONTH, say Feds

A Washington man accused of helping in the management of the copycat site Silk Road 2.0 has been charged with conspiracy to distribute heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine.

According to a criminal complaint filed in US District Court in Seattle, Brian Richard Farrell, 26, is alleged to have used the handle “DoctorClu”, and to have acted as one of a small number of online admin and forum moderators who assisted the operator of the Silk Road 2.0 site.

Another suspect, Blake Benthall, who has been accused of being the site's operator, was arrested in San Francisco in November last year.

According to the US government, as of September 2014, Silk Road 2.0 was generating sales of at least approximately $8m (£5.3m) per month and had approximately 150,000 active users.

Silk Road 2.0 went online in November 2013 following the government’s seizure of the first Silk Road site and the arrest of Ross Ulbricht, whom they alleged to be its owner and operator, “Dread Pirate Roberts”.

Ulbricht is currently on trial in the US and faces a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison if he is found guilty of running a “continuing criminal enterprise”. He has denied he is Dread Pirate Roberts and has pleaded not guilty. ®

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