Thailand Hands Over Suspected Dark Web Operative to US

A Canadian suspected of mentoring and advising the founder of the black market website Silk Road was extradited from Thailand to the United States on Friday, where he faces charges of online drug dealing and money laundering, among other offenses, U.S. authorities said.

Roger Thomas Clark, 56, arrived in New York after being turned over by Thai authorities, who held him in custody after arresting him in December 2015 at the request of American law enforcement officials, according to reports.

U.S. authorities shut down Silk Road, a so-called dark website, in October 2013. Its owner and operator, Ross William Ulbricht, was later convicted and sentenced to life in prison on a raft of criminal charges.

But while it was up and running, the site “was used by thousands of drug dealers and other unlawful vendors to distribute illegal drugs and other illicit goods and services to over a hundred thousand buyers, and to launder hundreds of millions of dollars derived from those unlawful transactions,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said in a statement Friday.

“Silk Road was a secret online marketplace for illegal drugs, hacking services, and a whole host of other criminal activity,” said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman, who thanked the Royal Thai Police for its support and assistance in the case.

“Roger Thomas Clark allegedly served as a trusted confidante to Silk Road founder and operator Ross Ulbricht, advising him on all aspects of this illegal business, including how to maximize profits and use threats of violence to thwart law enforcement.”