Digital drugs bazaar and hitmen: The dark history of Ross Ulbricht and Silk Road
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It started as a bold experiment – a Wild West style online marketplace where anything could be sold and no questions were asked. But the Silk Road, one of the first and most notorious dark web markets, soon spiralled into a criminal empire worth millions, transforming its founder Ross Ulbricht into a ruthless cybercriminal known as the ‘Kingpin of the Dark Web’.
![[Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht - Sentenced to Life in Prison. Image from Twitter photos - for Nikki]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AD_172775126-9034.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
The Silk Road was only active for around three years, before Ulbricht was arrested by the FBI and jailed for life in 2015 having been charged with drug trafficking, money laundering and computer hacking. He was also accused of hiring a hitman to murder former employees, and was estimated to have overseen over $1 billion in illegal sales between 2011 and 2013.
![[SILK ROAD MARKETPLACE Ross Ulbricht]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_236901643-6759.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
But how did an unassuming entrepreneur and libertarian activist find himself becoming one of the 21st century’s most notorious drug lords? And why did Donald Trump offer him a full pardon just hours after becoming president?. This is the story of the Silk Road.
![[Mandatory Credit: Photo by Canadian Press/Shutterstock (15111726e) Seized drugs are seen during a press conference announcing the seizure of 835 kilograms of cocaine by the Toronto Police Service, in Toronto on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. Ont-Toronto-Cocaine-Bust, Toronto, Canada - 21 Jan 2025]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_236836698-8909.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Ross Ulbricht grew up in Austin, Texas, and had a reputation of being a smart, charming, but otherwise fairly normal person. A physics major who enjoyed surfing, hanging out with friends and occasionally smoking pot, he had a reputation as a bit of a ‘boy scout’ who was an unflinchingly honest and caring friend.
![[Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the website Silk Road, appears in an undated photograph made from his computer and presented as an exhibit during his 2015 criminal trial in New York federal court. U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York/Handout via REUTERS NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_236871434-db0e.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Having grown tired of the drudgery of lab research, Ulbricht changed tracks and sought to become an entrepreneur following a growing interest in economics, investing in several small businesses that went nowhere including a videogame company and a bookselling business.
![[Republican presidential candidate former U.S. President Donald Trump reacts to the crowd, including hecklers and signs in support of jailed darknet market Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, as he takes the stage to address the Libertarian Party???s national convention in Washington, U.S., May 25, 2024. REUTERS/Brian Snyder TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_236871089-70a4.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
