Six Britons arrested in raid on ‘dark web’

A BRITISH gang of suspected cyber criminals have been arrested over their involvement in the world’s biggest online marketplace for drugs.

The five men and one woman were released on bail after being questioned by officials from the National Crime Agency.

They are allegedly ‘significant’ players in the notorious secret website known as Silk Road 2.0, which is at the centre of the ‘dark web’ trade in illicit drugs, forged documents, criminal devices and even firearms.

It was targeted by a joint European and US operation across 17 countries which culminated in the closure of over 400 other websites and services. US agencies also announced the detention of the website’s alleged boss Blake Benthall, a 2 -year-old from San Francisco, this week.

The British arrests included a 20year-old man from Liverpool, a 19year-old man from New Waltham in Lincolnshire and a 30-year-old man from Cleethorpes. In Aberdovey, on the west coast of Wales, a 29-year-old man and a man and woman, both aged 58, were also held.

The international operation involved dozens of cybercrime specialists who spent six months mapping the structure of the illegal sites.

Raids around the world on those responsible for running them led to the seizure of drugs, guns, cash and $1million of virtual currency Bitcoin.

Roy McComb, of the NCA, said further arrests are likely. He said the agency is ‘determined’ to prosecute people committing crime on the dark web, adding: ‘This is just like any other organised crime network.’

The original Silk Road website was taken down in blaze of publicity by the FBI in September 2013.

Since the second version began trading a year ago, it is thought to have allowed more than 100,000 people to buy and sell contraband.