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Brian Farrell, 26, was arrested late 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, using the digital currency bitcoin, 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, U.S. 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 righthand man and served as his spokesman, the
complaint said.
A lawyer for Farrell could not be reached for comment Monday.
Benthall's lawyer declined comment.
The case is U.S. v. Farrell, U.S. District Court, Western
District of Washington, No. 15-mj-00016.
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