Anyone who is into cryptocurrencies knows about the Silk Road. Silk Road was a black market built up on the darknet which dealt in drugs and pharmaceuticals. All of this was in complete anonymity and privacy as it could be accessed via TOR browser only. A strong case can be made that this was the first move that showed promises in bitcoin and opened it up to the general masses. We all know how the creator of Silk Road was apprehended and now is serving life sentence in prison.
Recently an ex KFC employee was arrested for running an illegal drug store on the darknet. Around $2.29 million were confiscated from the KFC employee and a sentence of 8 years has been handed over. As a cover for his illegal operation, Paul Johnson masqueraded his operations as a tea trading business. As per the authorities over 400 lbs of heroin, cocaine, LSD and ketamine has been confiscated as well.
Was this another Silk Road in the making?
To be honest OG Silk Road paved the way for bitcoin and cryptocurrency in general and many feel the double life sentence handed over to its creators was very unjust and was a way to make an example of him. The whole story of Silk Road, Bitcoin and the Darknet is so full of twists and turns that it is impossible to go into details about it here in this post. I will try to make another post about it as it is something i have been fascinated about since a long time and it is a story worth telling.