0:00:02 > 0:00:09This programme contains some strong language.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13My name is Jared Der-Yeghiayan.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16I'm a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations Division.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18I'm assigned to Chicago O'Hare International Airport.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29We have canines that run past the mail and smell for drugs.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34The officers noticed an unusual amount of drugs
0:00:34 > 0:00:38coming in letter-class mail.
0:00:39 > 0:00:43It was ecstasy pills, MDMA in powder form,
0:00:43 > 0:00:45cocaine, LSD, heroin.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53A few seizures became 50 seizures per month.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55And then became 100 seizures per month.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57And then a few hundred seizures per month.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07I conducted my first interview of a recipient...
0:01:08 > 0:01:12..and he told me immediately that it was from a website called Silk Road.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28- WOMAN REPORTER:- It has been 40 years since President Nixon
0:01:28 > 0:01:30declared a war on drugs.
0:01:30 > 0:01:34Now, a high-profile panel says that war is unwinnable and that...
0:01:34 > 0:01:37The Silk Road was a new kind of black market
0:01:37 > 0:01:39that the internet had never seen before.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41- WOMAN REPORTER:- ..opiates up 34.5%.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43Cocaine use up 27%.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46And marijuana use up 8.5%.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48That's according to...
0:01:48 > 0:01:52Silk Road was the first big "fuck you" to the war on drugs.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54- MALE REPORTER: - The website sells illegal drugs
0:01:54 > 0:01:56to anyone who is willing to pay.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59As our team investigator Michael George uncovered,
0:01:59 > 0:02:01people who run the site stand by what they're doing.
0:02:06 > 0:02:11- WOMAN:- Silk Road had 20,000 new users every single month.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17- MAN:- Afghani heroin, ketamine, steroids,
0:02:17 > 0:02:20Xanax, Klonopin, Valium...
0:02:20 > 0:02:22you could pretty much buy anything.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27And you wouldn't have to even leave the comfort of your home
0:02:27 > 0:02:29to obtain it.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38MAN: It was clear there was one person
0:02:38 > 0:02:39at the helm of this organisation.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43- MAN:- He was more than a drug dealer.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45- WOMAN:- He was a genius, in my opinion.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52- MAN:- The alleged mastermind goes by the nickname Dread Pirate Roberts.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55- VOICE ECHOES:- Dread Pirate Roberts. Dread Pirate Roberts.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57MAN: Every transaction was meant to be a blow
0:02:57 > 0:03:00against the whole idea of government.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06- MAN:- He made Silk Road.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09From that day, you have a target on your back.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30MAN: I am the head of the organisation of distributors
0:03:30 > 0:03:33that manufactured drugs and ran on Silk Road.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39- MAN:- The first time I had ever heard about Silk Road,
0:03:39 > 0:03:41one of my friends came up to me and he was like,
0:03:41 > 0:03:44"Hey, man, there's this website where you can buy drugs on
0:03:44 > 0:03:46"and you can sell drugs on it." And I was like, "What?!"
0:03:51 > 0:03:52There was the menu on the left,
0:03:52 > 0:03:55which shows all the drugs that you could purchase by category,
0:03:55 > 0:03:58whether it be a dissociative, an upper, a downer.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00It was all there.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04And it was like going on Amazon or on eBay
0:04:04 > 0:04:06and seeing your top recently-looked-at items,
0:04:06 > 0:04:09except that this was cocaine and DMT
0:04:09 > 0:04:10and all the other elusive drugs,
0:04:10 > 0:04:12that you could never have before in your life,
0:04:12 > 0:04:14just right in front of you.
0:04:14 > 0:04:15All you had to do was click twice
0:04:15 > 0:04:17and it'd show up at your doorstep a couple of days later.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23It's like...perfect.
0:04:25 > 0:04:26To become a vendor was very simple.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29All you have to do is click on "become a vendor"
0:04:29 > 0:04:30in the bottom right-hand corner
0:04:30 > 0:04:32and it would easily make you a vendor.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35Marketing and customer service were number one.
0:04:37 > 0:04:41Everything was shot in a studio with professional lighting
0:04:41 > 0:04:43and you got a product that matched that.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51In order to sell LSD,
0:04:51 > 0:04:54you'd get some kind of lawyering papers, doctor papers,
0:04:54 > 0:04:55any kind of paperwork that,
0:04:55 > 0:04:58when somebody sees a lot of, they want to avoid.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00And then it would just be a matter of figuring out a way
0:05:00 > 0:05:02to conceal it in the envelope in a way that they won't see.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09We would get a product, such as Dove chocolates,
0:05:09 > 0:05:11open it up, put it into the Dove chocolate packaging,
0:05:11 > 0:05:14close it up and then we had shrink-wrap sealers,
0:05:14 > 0:05:17so the product looks like it's been factory closed and never opened.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24I just don't know what ended up in law enforcement's hands,
0:05:24 > 0:05:26how much of it, when.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30You can't worry about things like that.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32This whole business is built on who's got the balls
0:05:32 > 0:05:35to disregard that information and make the money.
0:05:47 > 0:05:48MAN: I remember the day I got the call.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52In late February 2013...
0:05:52 > 0:05:54PHONE BUZZES ..my boss told me that Silk Road
0:05:54 > 0:05:57was a website that operated on this dark net
0:05:57 > 0:05:59that made it hard to locate where the site was
0:05:59 > 0:06:02or track any of the customers.
0:06:04 > 0:06:05PHONE BUZZES
0:06:05 > 0:06:07That it was the Amazon of drugs.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09That you could buy any drug you wanted.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11And the scale was worldwide.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25In cases like this,
0:06:25 > 0:06:27IRS Criminal Investigation are a lot of times brought in
0:06:27 > 0:06:30because we're financial experts at tracking money
0:06:30 > 0:06:33and most crimes are about the money.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37I had studied accounting when I was at college.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40I worked as an auditor
0:06:40 > 0:06:41and then I became a special agent.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44I hadn't, up to this point,
0:06:44 > 0:06:47done any kind of work in the drug-trafficking field.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59My first day on the investigation,
0:06:59 > 0:07:02the first thing was introducing myself to say,
0:07:02 > 0:07:05"Hey, I'm the new agent and what do you know about this Silk Road?"
0:07:10 > 0:07:12For the most part, to a man, they hated the case.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18I get the undercover laptop,
0:07:18 > 0:07:21we power up the site and I am dumbfounded.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25I had heard about it, people had told me about it,
0:07:25 > 0:07:27but until you actually got to the site
0:07:27 > 0:07:31and just saw how professionally it was done
0:07:31 > 0:07:34and how easy it was to get to the site, it really was amazing.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42- MAN:- For a normal person to purchase on Silk Road,
0:07:42 > 0:07:45they were first required to download a special browser,
0:07:45 > 0:07:47which would allow them access onto the dark web.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53- MAN:- The Silk Road really offered two distinct protections to users.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56One was Tor, and that's a tool that anyone can download.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05It triple encrypts your traffic as you're browsing the web
0:08:05 > 0:08:08and then bounces it through three different servers
0:08:08 > 0:08:10all around the globe.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15AGENT ALFORD: So you couldn't locate
0:08:15 > 0:08:18if you were using it or administering the site.
0:08:18 > 0:08:23But that does no good if you have to buy the drugs with a credit card.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26Because it wouldn't be too hard for an investigator, like myself,
0:08:26 > 0:08:28to track down who made this purchase.
0:08:28 > 0:08:34So the site specifically only authorised bitcoin transactions.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36The second protection was bitcoin, of course.
0:08:36 > 0:08:38Bitcoin is a digital currency.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41It's independent of any bank or government,
0:08:41 > 0:08:46unlike any currency that otherwise exists in the physical world.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49AGENT ALFORD: It works like cash on the internet.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53You can move it, but it doesn't have to be associated with any name,
0:08:53 > 0:08:56so it was used to make sure that people couldn't trace the money.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00- ANDY GREENBERG: - What made the Silk Road unique
0:09:00 > 0:09:02was that it had combined Tor with bitcoin,
0:09:02 > 0:09:05and I think that that's often how real innovation works.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08That combination, I think,
0:09:08 > 0:09:10was really the spark that changed the whole game.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35AGENT ALFORD: Even though there were numerous vendors...
0:09:36 > 0:09:39..there was an overriding force that controlled the site.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44That's the person that we want to target.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52He would call himself the Captain of the ship.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55He originally was just called Silk Road or Silk Road Admin.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59But, at that time, he took on a new alias or new name
0:09:59 > 0:10:01and it was Dread Pirate Roberts.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11I know who you are! Your cruelty reveals everything!
0:10:11 > 0:10:13You're the Dread Pirate Roberts, admit it!
0:10:13 > 0:10:17That name has significance because it comes from this film and a novel
0:10:17 > 0:10:18called The Princess Bride
0:10:18 > 0:10:21and the Dread Pirate Roberts is a title that's passed down
0:10:21 > 0:10:25from one kind of noble criminal to the next.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28You seem a decent fellow. I hate to kill you.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31You seem a decent fellow. I hate to die.
0:10:32 > 0:10:33Begin.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01DPR COMPUTER VOICE: You may be shocked to find listings here
0:11:01 > 0:11:03that are outlawed in your jurisdiction.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09That doesn't mean Silk Road is lawless.
0:11:11 > 0:11:16Our basic rules are to treat others as you would wish to be treated.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19Mind your own business
0:11:19 > 0:11:23and don't do anything to hurt or scam anyone else.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29There are some things you will never find here.
0:11:30 > 0:11:36They include child pornography, stolen goods and assassinations.
0:11:44 > 0:11:45As a community...
0:11:47 > 0:11:50..if we are going to survive,
0:11:50 > 0:11:53we need to adopt a long-term vision.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57It is my sincere hope that,
0:11:57 > 0:12:02by making drugs available in a secure and predictable way...
0:12:03 > 0:12:07..we will eliminate the violence of obtaining drugs
0:12:07 > 0:12:09through traditional methods.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15- ANDY GREENBERG: - Silk Road users just loved it.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19They called DPR a Che Guevara figure,
0:12:19 > 0:12:21changing the liberties of man.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40DPR really believed, and I think his users did, too,
0:12:40 > 0:12:43that they were ushering in this new era of human freedom.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49DPR COMPUTER VOICE: I searched long and hard
0:12:49 > 0:12:52for the truth about what is right and wrong.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55About what is good for humanity.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01All of a sudden, it was so clear.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07Every action you take outside the scope of government control
0:13:07 > 0:13:11strengthens the market and weakens the state.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18I saw how quickly the state would crumble
0:13:18 > 0:13:20if it didn't have its tax revenues.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25No soldiers if you can't pay them.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30DPR COMPUTER VOICE CONTINUES:
0:13:38 > 0:13:41We are like a little seed in a big jungle
0:13:41 > 0:13:45that has just broken the surface of the forest floor.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51It's a big, scary jungle with lots of dangerous creatures...
0:13:52 > 0:13:55..each honed, by evolution,
0:13:55 > 0:13:59to survive in the hostile environment known as human society.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20There's two ways to see the Silk Road.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23You can see it as just a vast criminal conspiracy,
0:14:23 > 0:14:25as it's described by the FBI,
0:14:25 > 0:14:28or you can see it as grand experiments
0:14:28 > 0:14:32in granting people an almost dangerous level of freedom.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36A kind of new anarchy on the internet,
0:14:36 > 0:14:40where people can act with impunity from laws.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44PHONE RINGS
0:14:45 > 0:14:47The first thing you want to know in an investigation
0:14:47 > 0:14:48is not what you do know,
0:14:48 > 0:14:50you want to know what you don't know.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53And I knew I didn't know a lot.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55So I had to go all the way back to the beginning.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06It was only after a few months of Silk Road getting started
0:15:06 > 0:15:09that it came into the public consciousness.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19And what happened was there was an article written by Gawker
0:15:19 > 0:15:21about, I believe it was,
0:15:21 > 0:15:23"You can buy any drug imaginable."
0:15:26 > 0:15:28Within days of that press article,
0:15:28 > 0:15:31Senator Schumer, from New York, called a press conference
0:15:31 > 0:15:33calling for the site to be shut down.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40- SENATOR SCHUMER:- It's a certifiable one-stop shop for illegal drugs
0:15:40 > 0:15:42that represents the most brazen attempt
0:15:42 > 0:15:46to peddle drugs online that we have ever seen.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48It's more brazen than anything else by light years.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52Traffic to the site went through the roof.
0:15:54 > 0:15:58Authorities say they are absolutely shocked by a popular new website
0:15:58 > 0:16:01brazenly selling illegal drugs to anyone with a computer.
0:16:01 > 0:16:07WOMAN REPORTER SPEAKS IN DUTCH
0:16:07 > 0:16:09A lot more eyeballs and traffic went to the site
0:16:09 > 0:16:11and it became much more profitable.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13Drugs were being shipped all around the US.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15Drugs were being shipped outside of the US.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17Drugs were coming in from outside.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19It was going all over the place.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23LSD, cocaine and ecstasy are now just a click of a mouse away.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29The case was pretty high profile and people wanted results.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33MALE REPORTER SPEAKS IN FRENCH
0:16:36 > 0:16:39AGENT ALFORD: But they didn't know how to bring it down.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41We even found a local customer
0:16:41 > 0:16:44who says there's not a lot police can do to stop it.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46I am calling on the DEA and the Department of Justice
0:16:46 > 0:16:50to immediately shut this site down before more damage is done.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52Whoever this person running this site,
0:16:52 > 0:16:54you would think, at this point, they'd say,
0:16:54 > 0:16:56"Oh, I should get out of this game."
0:16:57 > 0:17:01But surprisingly, the person's reaction who run the site was...
0:17:05 > 0:17:08The gauntlet has been thrown down. Bring it on.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13- MAN:- Prior to Silk Road, all the customers I had
0:17:13 > 0:17:14were almost all face-to-face.
0:17:22 > 0:17:24When the Silk Road came along,
0:17:24 > 0:17:25it virtually expanded my network
0:17:25 > 0:17:27to every single customer in the world.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46MAN: The New York cyber branch of the FBI
0:17:46 > 0:17:49was the lead technical investigative agency
0:17:49 > 0:17:51for this investigation.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01There were millions of dollars being transferred back and forth
0:18:01 > 0:18:04and it was large-scale purchases.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09From casual drug users to hardcore dangerous drugs.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12DPR was taking money from every transaction.
0:18:12 > 0:18:18He was getting a fee for every time a good was sold on the site.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24AUSTIN BERGLAS: Six months into the investigation,
0:18:24 > 0:18:25we had limited success.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29Clearly, we hadn't identified the hidden service yet,
0:18:29 > 0:18:32we hadn't been able to defeat Tor
0:18:32 > 0:18:35and we hadn't identified the Dread Pirate Roberts.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38We didn't know where he was,
0:18:38 > 0:18:40who he was, how old he was,
0:18:40 > 0:18:42if he was a male or female.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46That creates a huge challenge
0:18:46 > 0:18:50to a very aggressive investigative team.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59DPR COMPUTER VOICE:
0:19:07 > 0:19:10- DPR COMPUTER VOICE: - I have let fear pass through me
0:19:10 > 0:19:14and commit myself fully to the mission outlined in the charter.
0:19:21 > 0:19:26What we are doing is more important than my insignificant life.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33What we are doing will have rippling effects
0:19:33 > 0:19:35for generations to come...
0:19:37 > 0:19:40..and could be part of a monumental shift
0:19:40 > 0:19:45in how human beings organise and relate to one another.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53Silk Road is going to become a phenomenon.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58At least one person will tell me about it,
0:19:58 > 0:20:01unknowing that I am its creator.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12MAN: DPR played the vendors very well and kept them close to him.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14And we took care of him, he took care of us.
0:20:14 > 0:20:19The site had a commission, somewhere around 3%.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22They later increased their percentage to somewhere around 12%.
0:20:23 > 0:20:28This further brings my reasoning to DPR only wanting money.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31Anybody who says that they're doing this for other than money is a liar.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38- DPR COMPUTER VOICE:- To those of you chalking my actions up
0:20:38 > 0:20:41to pure greed,
0:20:41 > 0:20:43I say, "Shame on you!"
0:20:45 > 0:20:47DPR COMPUTER VOICE:
0:20:52 > 0:20:55- DPR COMPUTER VOICE: - Do you think it runs itself?
0:20:57 > 0:21:01Do you have any clue what goes on behind the scenes
0:21:01 > 0:21:02to keep this going?
0:21:04 > 0:21:08Whether you like it or not, I am the Captain of this ship.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11And if you don't like the rules of the game...
0:21:13 > 0:21:15..you can get off the boat.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26Dread Pirate Roberts could have been anybody.
0:21:26 > 0:21:27There was a lot of theories.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31- MAN:- Of course I wondered. But I'd rather mind my manners
0:21:31 > 0:21:33and not ask that type of question.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36They were different nationalities, different age groups.
0:21:41 > 0:21:42The writing of the Silk Road
0:21:42 > 0:21:45made us believe that it was someone from Australia
0:21:45 > 0:21:46or other English-speaking countries.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50I imagined some kind of potbellied guy in his basement
0:21:50 > 0:21:52in Silicon Valley.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58There were theories that the person had connections to Russia.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00- MAN:- My guess was that he was from the UK.
0:22:00 > 0:22:04I thought he was relatively young,
0:22:04 > 0:22:05because he would use this term "epic".
0:22:05 > 0:22:07Cos that's a term the younger generation would say.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11We really didn't know where the person was located.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13He could be located in any country in the world.
0:22:13 > 0:22:15He was a, erm...
0:22:15 > 0:22:16a ghost.
0:22:27 > 0:22:28It was a Friday night.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30I was frustrated with the case.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34I wasn't getting the results that I thought I should be getting.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37So what I decided is, I'm going to go over everything I did.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39I was going to redo everything.
0:22:39 > 0:22:40My dad was a math teacher
0:22:40 > 0:22:42and I think I've kind of got that from him,
0:22:42 > 0:22:44in the way he approached things.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46Very methodically. Two plus two is four.
0:22:46 > 0:22:52And he always raised me to believe I can overcome anything.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56So I was going to go over every last bit of evidence,
0:22:56 > 0:22:59cos I figured I had missed something.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13I was in bed.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16I was having a hard time sleeping,
0:23:16 > 0:23:19because I just cannot sleep with, erm...
0:23:19 > 0:23:21like, something that I should be doing.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26My fiancee, she would be upset at me sometimes,
0:23:26 > 0:23:29"Why are you up late at night? Why don't you go to sleep?"
0:23:29 > 0:23:33So I'd go to where my couch is and that's where I'd do most of my work.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35And I just started plugging away.
0:23:38 > 0:23:42The Silk Road site was hosted on this Tor hidden service.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45But that is no good if someone's just on the regular internet.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47So I figured whoever was running this site
0:23:47 > 0:23:49had to first advertise it.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53I just started putting search terms in, like Silk Road.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55Unfortunately, a lot of stuff came back.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57So I started putting in limiting searches.
0:23:57 > 0:24:01Silk Road started in early 2011.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05So I eliminated to before, let's say, February 2011,
0:24:05 > 0:24:09to see if there was any mentions of a Silk Road site before then.
0:24:09 > 0:24:10And I would start there.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14And by doing that search I came across a posting
0:24:14 > 0:24:18on the bitcoin forum from an avatar named Altoid.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24I click on it, and it brings me to this discussion thread...
0:24:25 > 0:24:29..about how someone could have a drug enterprise online
0:24:29 > 0:24:31and how would they do it.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33And he's advertising for a Silk Road site.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37So it predates all other mentions.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39So it was kind of eye-opening.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42So, how does this person, Altoid, know about this site
0:24:42 > 0:24:44before the site was launched?
0:24:46 > 0:24:50On his final posting, in October 2011,
0:24:50 > 0:24:53Altoid says he's going to start a bitcoin company
0:24:53 > 0:24:55and is looking for programming help.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58And he asks for people to reach out to him.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00And in the posting,
0:25:00 > 0:25:03he lists his Gmail account for them to contact him.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14And the Gmail account that he lists
0:25:14 > 0:25:17is rossulbricht@gmail.com.
0:25:20 > 0:25:21And I was like, "Wow!
0:25:21 > 0:25:25"Yeah, I have to look into who this Ross Ulbricht is."
0:25:40 > 0:25:43- WOMAN:- I actually didn't really talk to him the first time I met him.
0:25:45 > 0:25:47And then after that, we were inseparable.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53I honestly don't think there's anything we didn't do together,
0:25:53 > 0:25:58from going to parks and going on hikes, to going to art museums.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03He was really into yoga and exercise.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08He was also into qigong and breathing.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14There was a period of time when he was always in his room,
0:26:14 > 0:26:16was always working on stuff.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19You know, he really always had his computer in tow
0:26:19 > 0:26:21and he was very kind of secretive about it.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23Before the internet?
0:26:23 > 0:26:24Ask me a question.
0:26:26 > 0:26:27Erm...
0:26:29 > 0:26:33What are you most excited about for the 2011 year?
0:26:33 > 0:26:36I'm excited to see... how things play out.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38I think it's going to be a year of change.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42On a broad scale, you know?
0:26:47 > 0:26:48Yeah, it's exciting.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55- MAN:- He was known on campus as being, just, you know,
0:26:55 > 0:26:58a really cool, awesome dude.
0:26:58 > 0:26:59People would just get drawn to him.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03He would always try and make sure everybody was having a good time,
0:27:03 > 0:27:05you know, that nobody was off in their own little corner
0:27:05 > 0:27:06doing their own thing.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11He was definitely my first love.
0:27:14 > 0:27:15We had great sex.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19Hanging out, going to parties, going out to eat
0:27:19 > 0:27:22and cuddling in the freezing cold, you know, just perfect.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27He kind of made me think about a lot of things,
0:27:27 > 0:27:30a lot of different perspectives on life
0:27:30 > 0:27:32that I had never even considered before.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35ROSS ULBRICHT: What are you most looking forward to?
0:27:36 > 0:27:39Erm, I guess I'm looking forward to
0:27:39 > 0:27:46the possibility of turning my passion into a viable business.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50Awesome. Well, I wish you the best of luck.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54I mean, he was a genius, in my opinion.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59He was all about entrepreneurship, and his parents were entrepreneurs.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02They had owned condos in Costa Rica and rented them out.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05He genuinely loved his family.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09And Ross genuinely looked up to his dad and he loved his mother.
0:28:09 > 0:28:10So I think...
0:28:10 > 0:28:13Yeah, I definitely think they had an influence on him.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22- AARON ARNOLD:- Ross would dress in as little as possible.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25I knew him for a big chunk of freshman year,
0:28:25 > 0:28:28before I ever knew his name - he was No Shirt Guy.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32And he was No Shirt Guy to literally hundreds of other people,
0:28:32 > 0:28:35who I'm sure never even bothered to learn his name.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39I remember, one time, we were going camping.
0:28:39 > 0:28:43And to Ross, since he was No Shirt Guy,
0:28:43 > 0:28:45you know, wearing a bunch of clothes was, you know,
0:28:45 > 0:28:48something that you had to do, because other people made you do it.
0:28:48 > 0:28:52And once we got to our campsite, right by this lake,
0:28:52 > 0:28:54it was like, "OK, clothes come off.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57"I'm going to spend as much time as I can out in nature.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00"You know, just completely butt-ass naked, doing my own thing."
0:29:03 > 0:29:05- JULIA VIE:- I didn't really have a lot of friends at that point,
0:29:05 > 0:29:07so I just hung out with Ross.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12When I was working, I don't know what he was doing, to be honest.
0:29:29 > 0:29:31AGENT ALFORD: So, on Monday morning,
0:29:31 > 0:29:33I went to tell the other guys and girls in the group
0:29:33 > 0:29:34about what I'd found.
0:29:36 > 0:29:38I have a very expressive face.
0:29:38 > 0:29:40So when I get in, I'm pretty excited.
0:29:40 > 0:29:42And I was like, "Hey, we've got something new.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45"We've got something that we can really sink our teeth into
0:29:45 > 0:29:47"and look into this person, Ross Ulbricht."
0:29:47 > 0:29:50The case had been going on for about two years,
0:29:50 > 0:29:52and they said, "Well, how did you find it?"
0:29:52 > 0:29:53And I told them, "Google."
0:29:53 > 0:29:56They were like, "Really? That's what you did?"
0:29:56 > 0:29:57And I'm like, "Yes."
0:29:57 > 0:29:59I mean, you come into this big case
0:29:59 > 0:30:01and tell people you've cracked it over a weekend
0:30:01 > 0:30:03doing Google searches.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05You should expect some, you know, quizzical looks.
0:30:07 > 0:30:10I was just this total outsider.
0:30:10 > 0:30:12You know, people dismissed it.
0:30:33 > 0:30:35- ANDY GREENBERG: - I was working at Forbes magazine
0:30:35 > 0:30:39when I saw the first press come out about the Silk Road.
0:30:39 > 0:30:42I was pretty much obsessed with the Silk Road
0:30:42 > 0:30:45as this new phenomenon on the internet,
0:30:45 > 0:30:47especially with the Dread Pirate Roberts,
0:30:47 > 0:30:49this mysterious figure behind it all.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54Of course I wanted to figure out who he was.
0:30:54 > 0:30:56That would be the ultimate scoop.
0:31:02 > 0:31:05On the forums you can private message anyone,
0:31:05 > 0:31:07and, anonymous as he was, he was still available,
0:31:07 > 0:31:09you know, for anybody to reach out to.
0:31:14 > 0:31:18And I was shocked to see that he actually was super responsive.
0:31:18 > 0:31:20He wrote back to me immediately,
0:31:20 > 0:31:23which was not what you would expect from
0:31:23 > 0:31:25the kingpin of a massive drug operation.
0:31:28 > 0:31:32He said that he wanted to share this vision he had with the world
0:31:32 > 0:31:36but that he was waiting for what he considered to be the right moment.
0:31:36 > 0:31:39He wanted to wait for some new phase of Silk Road that he alluded to,
0:31:39 > 0:31:42but never fully explained.
0:31:44 > 0:31:46Very polite and professional.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49Espoused these political ideals that seemed very noble.
0:31:49 > 0:31:51He was funny at times.
0:31:53 > 0:31:57I proceeded to pester him to give me a full interview.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00I, at one point, just launched into a series of questions
0:32:00 > 0:32:02about who he was, how old he was,
0:32:02 > 0:32:04if he was male or female, even.
0:32:04 > 0:32:06And he was so freaked out that he cut off all contact.
0:32:14 > 0:32:18- AARON ARNOLD:- Ross and I would talk about politics for hours and hours.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21He thought that people were their own best judges
0:32:21 > 0:32:23of what was right for them
0:32:23 > 0:32:26and that it was a bad idea to have somebody, essentially,
0:32:26 > 0:32:27standing over their shoulder,
0:32:27 > 0:32:30telling them what was OK and what wasn't OK.
0:32:30 > 0:32:32Drugs are menacing our society.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35They are threatening our values and undercutting our institutions.
0:32:35 > 0:32:37They're killing our children.
0:32:37 > 0:32:40Ross agreed with the libertarian idea
0:32:40 > 0:32:43that people have the natural desire to do stuff like drugs
0:32:43 > 0:32:45and that, when you have a legal set-up,
0:32:45 > 0:32:48where access to drugs is prohibited...
0:32:48 > 0:32:51Drugs take away the dream from every child's heart
0:32:51 > 0:32:53and replace it with a nightmare.
0:32:53 > 0:32:56..you don't stop people from doing drugs.
0:32:56 > 0:32:58You've just made it more likely that they'll get injured,
0:32:58 > 0:32:59or they'll get ripped off,
0:32:59 > 0:33:03or they'll get into an uncomfortable relationship
0:33:03 > 0:33:04with some shady drug dealer.
0:33:04 > 0:33:06But if we face this evil...
0:33:07 > 0:33:09..as a nation united,
0:33:09 > 0:33:15this will be nothing but a handful of useless chemicals.
0:33:15 > 0:33:17I'm sure, in his mind, he was thinking,
0:33:17 > 0:33:19"There's got to be a better way," you know?
0:33:25 > 0:33:29- MAN:- So Ross and I, we started off as neighbours down a hall.
0:33:29 > 0:33:32Eventually, I needed to find a new place
0:33:32 > 0:33:34and he and his girlfriend were also looking for a new place,
0:33:34 > 0:33:37so we ended up moving in together.
0:33:44 > 0:33:49- JULIA VIE:- We got a two-bedroom apartment, just a really cute place.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52It had a hot tub and everything, it was really fun.
0:33:56 > 0:33:58ULBRICHT: Have you ever been to Big Bend?
0:33:58 > 0:33:59- TERRY:- Yeah, national park? Yeah.
0:33:59 > 0:34:01And looking up at the sky.
0:34:01 > 0:34:03Man, looking up at, you know, so many stars.
0:34:03 > 0:34:05Yeah, fuck, man.
0:34:05 > 0:34:06I was just chilling at these hot springs
0:34:06 > 0:34:09and a blue fireball, I kid you not,
0:34:09 > 0:34:13streaked, probably, you know, like an arc like this, across the sky.
0:34:13 > 0:34:17That was a weather balloon filled with methane gas!
0:34:17 > 0:34:19Right! Some kind of, like, space junk.
0:34:19 > 0:34:21I think it was, like, human trash, honestly.
0:34:21 > 0:34:25- JULIA VIE: - Wait! Wait! We have trash in space?
0:34:25 > 0:34:27I had no idea.
0:34:32 > 0:34:34- JOSHUA TERRY:- Ross was always working on a new project.
0:34:34 > 0:34:35He was always telling me
0:34:35 > 0:34:37you can accomplish more than you think you can.
0:34:37 > 0:34:40But, as far as I can tell, it never really clicked for him
0:34:40 > 0:34:43with sort of the nine-to-five type of work.
0:34:49 > 0:34:52DPR COMPUTER VOICE: I hate having to lie to people.
0:34:55 > 0:34:59Friends will tell me, "Why don't you do this or that?"
0:35:00 > 0:35:02Like I have all this free time.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07- JOSHUA TERRY: - One time, he made me these steaks
0:35:07 > 0:35:10and, at some point, he was like, "I can't really talk about it.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13"I have this project, I'm working on it, I'm really excited about it.
0:35:13 > 0:35:14"It's currency-based."
0:35:14 > 0:35:17And I thought, "You know what, this is his new project.
0:35:17 > 0:35:19"He's working on it, we'll see where it goes."
0:35:19 > 0:35:22I was honestly, like, "OK, great, that's awesome."
0:35:24 > 0:35:28The problem is, for Ross, he would work on a new project
0:35:28 > 0:35:30and then it would just not pan out.
0:35:30 > 0:35:32And that was sort of the way I knew him.
0:35:33 > 0:35:35Being an entrepreneur is very hard.
0:35:35 > 0:35:37Most people fail.
0:35:42 > 0:35:43DPR COMPUTER VOICE: I just want to scream...
0:35:45 > 0:35:49.."I'm running a multimillion-dollar criminal enterprise!"
0:36:08 > 0:36:11- MAN:- Growing up, everyone knew I was a drug dealer.
0:36:11 > 0:36:15When I went onto Silk Road, I completely went dark.
0:36:15 > 0:36:18Everyone just thought that I was doing a normal job.
0:36:18 > 0:36:2099% of the time I dressed up in suits.
0:36:20 > 0:36:22- WOMAN: - That's not how you look today.
0:36:22 > 0:36:24I'm wearing 3,000 pants.
0:36:24 > 0:36:25HE LAUGHS
0:36:42 > 0:36:44- MAN:- I had all the money I wanted to.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47I could do anything I really hadn't even imagined.
0:36:50 > 0:36:53The most baller thing we did, we went to party in Thailand.
0:36:53 > 0:36:55It was during the Festival of Colour.
0:36:57 > 0:36:59We paid a whole bunch of people to ride us around on elephants.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02We were on top of the elephants, smoking fucking heroin
0:37:02 > 0:37:06and all sorts of crazy things, throwing 100 bills out of the air.
0:37:08 > 0:37:10It was like one of those fucking painted elephants, and everything.
0:37:10 > 0:37:13And they have, like, the wooden little house on top.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21DPR COMPUTER VOICE:
0:37:28 > 0:37:30- MAN:- I've done a bunch of other stupid shit with my money,
0:37:30 > 0:37:32but that was, like, one of the most...
0:37:32 > 0:37:34That was, like, the happiest point in my life.
0:37:36 > 0:37:39DPR COMPUTER VOICE: Thank you for being here.
0:37:39 > 0:37:41Thank you for being my comrades.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46DPR COMPUTER VOICE:
0:38:08 > 0:38:12So I grew up with my family in the projects in Brooklyn, New York.
0:38:12 > 0:38:14And we could see first-hand the devastation
0:38:14 > 0:38:16that drugs brought to the community.
0:38:17 > 0:38:20You'd walk the streets and you'll see people high on drugs
0:38:20 > 0:38:23and, you know, it was always something that you was afraid of,
0:38:23 > 0:38:27because, you know, if someone was addicted to some of these drugs,
0:38:27 > 0:38:29you don't know what they would do. These people were desperate.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32People throwing babies out the window.
0:38:32 > 0:38:34And people jumping out of windows and...
0:38:35 > 0:38:38I mean, crack doesn't care about who you are.
0:38:38 > 0:38:40It devastates whoever uses it.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48It is frustrating when you think you've found something
0:38:48 > 0:38:51and you don't think other people are as enthusiastic as you are.
0:38:52 > 0:38:55But, in those times, you just have to remain professional.
0:38:55 > 0:38:57Say, "Well, listen, just keep working your case.
0:38:57 > 0:38:59"It doesn't really matter what they think.
0:39:00 > 0:39:03"If it's the truth, then they are going to have to deal with me."
0:39:06 > 0:39:09I continued to look through all the public records
0:39:09 > 0:39:12of what Mr Ulbricht had put out there.
0:39:12 > 0:39:15And he had somewhat of a public footprint.
0:39:15 > 0:39:16He was in his late 20s.
0:39:16 > 0:39:18He had a masters degree.
0:39:18 > 0:39:20He had a background in finance.
0:39:20 > 0:39:24The strange thing was, whatever DPR was into,
0:39:24 > 0:39:27Ulbricht was into.
0:39:27 > 0:39:29DPR loved Ron Paul.
0:39:30 > 0:39:32Ulbricht loved Ron Paul.
0:39:33 > 0:39:35And some brand of Austrian economics that I had not heard about
0:39:35 > 0:39:37until in this case.
0:39:37 > 0:39:40But DPR loved that brand of economics.
0:39:40 > 0:39:42And so did Ulbricht.
0:39:42 > 0:39:44So...everything I found, I said,
0:39:44 > 0:39:47"Wow, everything is matching up to this DPR."
0:40:01 > 0:40:04My husband's real name is Curtis Green.
0:40:04 > 0:40:07He got into Silk Road, in the beginning,
0:40:07 > 0:40:09because he does take a lot
0:40:09 > 0:40:12of prescription pain medication for some injuries he's had.
0:40:13 > 0:40:15That's why he used the handle Chronic Pain.
0:40:17 > 0:40:20As Curtis became more involved in Silk Road,
0:40:20 > 0:40:22he would go and post on the forums.
0:40:23 > 0:40:26He has knowledge of a lot of prescription medications.
0:40:26 > 0:40:28And people found it very helpful.
0:40:30 > 0:40:31DPR started to take notice.
0:40:35 > 0:40:38Curtis actually called me and said, "Come home, I have good news."
0:40:40 > 0:40:42So I hurried home and went in and he said,
0:40:42 > 0:40:47"Guess what? DPR offered me a job on Silk Road.
0:40:50 > 0:40:51"Just changing passwords
0:40:51 > 0:40:54"and settling disputes between vendors and buyers."
0:40:54 > 0:40:58And I said, "That's all? He's not asking you to sell?
0:40:58 > 0:41:01"Correct?" And he says, "No. Oh, no. It's not that."
0:41:02 > 0:41:05You know, 800 a week is not chump change.
0:41:05 > 0:41:08I mean, that's more than I make, working full time.
0:41:11 > 0:41:13But there was one catch.
0:41:13 > 0:41:16He had to send a copy of his driver's licence,
0:41:16 > 0:41:19so DPR would know where he was at and who he was.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24Looking back now, yeah, that was a big mistake.
0:41:35 > 0:41:37- JULIA VIE:- Ross and I, actually, at that time,
0:41:37 > 0:41:39started to kind of get a little rocky.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42Just a lot of arguing.
0:41:42 > 0:41:43Just a lot of fighting.
0:41:44 > 0:41:48He had mentioned his desire to make a website, much like Amazon,
0:41:48 > 0:41:50that was anonymous,
0:41:50 > 0:41:53where people didn't have to worry about the government
0:41:53 > 0:41:55getting in on their sales and their money.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59The idea of making money outside of the government
0:41:59 > 0:42:01is very, very scary to me.
0:42:02 > 0:42:04Maybe it was selfish of me, but I said,
0:42:04 > 0:42:06"Do I really want my boyfriend to go to jail?"
0:42:15 > 0:42:17He didn't listen to me.
0:42:24 > 0:42:27DPR COMPUTER VOICE:
0:42:37 > 0:42:39I couldn't believe it. I mean, I thought
0:42:39 > 0:42:40I was going to end up with Ross
0:42:40 > 0:42:42and we were possibly going to get married.
0:42:45 > 0:42:48DPR COMPUTER VOICE: It's living with the possibility
0:42:48 > 0:42:51and keeping your work a secret.
0:42:52 > 0:42:54I just think a lot of those things
0:42:54 > 0:42:56kind of made us naturally drift apart.
0:42:58 > 0:43:00So we broke up.
0:43:00 > 0:43:03So I don't really know what happened after that.
0:43:28 > 0:43:30AGENT ALFORD: Regardless of what other people
0:43:30 > 0:43:33thought about my investigation, the lead, I have a job to do.
0:43:36 > 0:43:39I started looking into him fully.
0:43:39 > 0:43:41So I saw his travel records.
0:43:41 > 0:43:43I saw that he had travelled to Dominica.
0:43:43 > 0:43:46I know Dominica is one of the places that you possibly can get
0:43:46 > 0:43:47a second passport from.
0:43:47 > 0:43:50And I knew that from previous tax investigations.
0:43:50 > 0:43:53I also was able to get IP information from Google,
0:43:53 > 0:43:55saying where he logged in.
0:43:55 > 0:43:59And I saw that he was logging in from San Francisco, California.
0:44:07 > 0:44:10A couple of weeks after I found the name Ross Ulbricht,
0:44:10 > 0:44:13I was using Google to do tons of internet searches,
0:44:13 > 0:44:15as you can imagine.
0:44:16 > 0:44:18I was amazed.
0:44:18 > 0:44:21The last thing I thought I would find is a 35-minute video of him
0:44:21 > 0:44:23on the internet, talking.
0:44:26 > 0:44:29- ULBRICHT: - Today is December 6th, 2012.
0:44:29 > 0:44:30I'm here in San Francisco.
0:44:30 > 0:44:33I'm 28 years old
0:44:33 > 0:44:36and a friend of the guy who's about to introduce himself to you.
0:44:37 > 0:44:40It was a very long video. It was, like, 35 minutes
0:44:40 > 0:44:41with him and his friend.
0:44:41 > 0:44:44And I guess they did it for some sort of documentary.
0:44:44 > 0:44:47And it was eye-opening for me
0:44:47 > 0:44:50cos this is the first time I got to see Mr Ulbricht speaking.
0:44:52 > 0:44:53So, Rene...
0:44:54 > 0:44:56..what do you want to talk about today?
0:44:57 > 0:44:59They talked about them just growing up.
0:45:01 > 0:45:04I remember you being very, like, erm...
0:45:04 > 0:45:06quirky and witty.
0:45:07 > 0:45:09And, er...
0:45:09 > 0:45:12And, like...just cooler than me.
0:45:14 > 0:45:16Oh, how things have changed!
0:45:16 > 0:45:20It was such a brutally honest,
0:45:20 > 0:45:22what appeared to be such a brutally honest conversation
0:45:22 > 0:45:23between two friends.
0:45:23 > 0:45:26They talked about their sexual interactions,
0:45:26 > 0:45:27even losing their virginity.
0:45:27 > 0:45:31First thing I noticed about her was her tits, which were very nice.
0:45:33 > 0:45:35She was dating a guy named Chad at the time, who...
0:45:35 > 0:45:37Chad, I don't like him already.
0:45:37 > 0:45:39Chad is a...was a total prick.
0:45:40 > 0:45:43Chad was a kind of small-time pot dealer.
0:45:43 > 0:45:44And, erm...
0:45:44 > 0:45:48His best friend had asked Ross to move out to San Francisco with him.
0:45:48 > 0:45:52You twisted my arm until I said,
0:45:52 > 0:45:54"Argh! Fine, I'll come!"
0:45:54 > 0:45:57And in this conversation he asked him,
0:45:57 > 0:45:59"Well, what were you doing in Austin, Texas
0:45:59 > 0:46:00"before I asked you to move?"
0:46:00 > 0:46:02Let's see...
0:46:02 > 0:46:03I was, erm...
0:46:07 > 0:46:10I was living in Austin, Texas. The meh of start-ups.
0:46:13 > 0:46:15And, er...
0:46:15 > 0:46:18But when his friend asked him that, he had no answer.
0:46:19 > 0:46:21And, erm...
0:46:32 > 0:46:34He was stumbling around his answers and he was, "Erm, erm, erm..."
0:46:34 > 0:46:35Erm...
0:46:42 > 0:46:43Er...
0:46:47 > 0:46:50When I looked at, on YouTube, how many views it had,
0:46:50 > 0:46:53I believe it had one, maybe two views.
0:46:53 > 0:46:55And there were two people in the video.
0:46:55 > 0:46:57And I am the third person watching it.
0:46:57 > 0:46:59That was when it hit me.
0:46:59 > 0:47:02Like, "Wow! I might be the only one looking at this guy
0:47:02 > 0:47:05"as being Dread Pirate Roberts."
0:47:14 > 0:47:17The Silk Road had obviously grown into a real phenomenon.
0:47:17 > 0:47:20In fact, a phenomenon unlike anything I'd ever seen before
0:47:20 > 0:47:21on the internet.
0:47:21 > 0:47:26So after eight months of badgering him on the Silk Road forums,
0:47:26 > 0:47:30DPR finally agreed to a real on-the-record interview.
0:47:36 > 0:47:39He made me an honorary drug dealer on the Silk Road,
0:47:39 > 0:47:41just for a few hours,
0:47:41 > 0:47:43so that we could communicate anonymously.
0:47:47 > 0:47:49He was funny at times.
0:47:50 > 0:47:52But also arrogant, to a certain degree.
0:47:52 > 0:47:55He definitely took credit for creating something new
0:47:55 > 0:47:58in the history of mankind and that's how he wanted to be seen.
0:48:02 > 0:48:04He preferred to talk about himself
0:48:04 > 0:48:06and to see himself as a political figure,
0:48:06 > 0:48:08the leader of this philosophical and political movement,
0:48:08 > 0:48:13and took offence to this idea that he might just be a mere drug dealer.
0:48:19 > 0:48:22But he wasn't ashamed of the fact also that he was making
0:48:22 > 0:48:25enormous amounts of money from this.
0:48:25 > 0:48:28At one point, he told me that he wouldn't sell the Silk Road
0:48:28 > 0:48:29for less than ten or 11 figures.
0:48:29 > 0:48:31That's tens of billions of dollars.
0:48:31 > 0:48:35And he also told me that, someday, we would have to put him
0:48:35 > 0:48:38on the Forbes rich list of the world's wealthiest people.
0:48:42 > 0:48:44- MAN:- Can you imagine being
0:48:44 > 0:48:47one of the most famous anonymous people in the world,
0:48:47 > 0:48:49just dying for that bit of recognition
0:48:49 > 0:48:51that you can't ask for anyone?
0:48:51 > 0:48:53That Forbes article is his recognition.
0:48:54 > 0:48:55He got it.
0:48:55 > 0:48:58But that's not how you run an organisation like this.
0:48:59 > 0:49:03I have to say that I did think he was overconfident from that moment.
0:49:03 > 0:49:04You know, I asked him...
0:49:13 > 0:49:15It was a very short answer.
0:49:19 > 0:49:21He seemed completely confident
0:49:21 > 0:49:24that he was invincible, an invisible character on the dark web.
0:49:32 > 0:49:35- MAN:- They should've just maintained a site to sell drugs.
0:49:36 > 0:49:38It was a quiet community, we were all doing our own thing,
0:49:38 > 0:49:39we were being happy.
0:49:39 > 0:49:43Then politics started getting brought into it.
0:49:47 > 0:49:49It was no longer a marketplace for drugs, like it was.
0:49:49 > 0:49:52Now it was the new libertarian front for freedom.
0:49:56 > 0:50:00The vendors like myself saw it as "Dude, you're fucking up our,
0:50:00 > 0:50:02"like, our thing we got going on here.
0:50:02 > 0:50:05"Just shut up and, like, let us operate."
0:50:14 > 0:50:16- TONYA GREEN:- One day in January,
0:50:16 > 0:50:19Curtis and I were on the phone, cos I was out of state in Kentucky.
0:50:21 > 0:50:25And he saw that the mailman was delivering a package,
0:50:25 > 0:50:27but he was not in a normal mail truck.
0:50:28 > 0:50:31My first thoughts were,
0:50:31 > 0:50:33"Something's going on with Silk Road."
0:50:34 > 0:50:37Curtis opened the door and, by then, the mailperson was already gone.
0:50:39 > 0:50:42He grabbed the package, he brought it in, opened it,
0:50:42 > 0:50:46and a big plume of cocaine went into his face.
0:50:46 > 0:50:49And then the door busted open.
0:50:50 > 0:50:54There was the DEA, Homeland Security, Postal Inspectors.
0:50:56 > 0:51:00And they told him, if he did not co-operate with them,
0:51:00 > 0:51:03they would get him for 40 years' prison time.
0:51:07 > 0:51:09They wanted his usernames, his passwords,
0:51:09 > 0:51:11his access into Silk Road.
0:51:12 > 0:51:15That was their goal. They were after DPR.
0:51:18 > 0:51:23And also, it was revealed that 350,000 worth of bitcoins
0:51:23 > 0:51:26were stolen and it was put in Curtis' account.
0:51:28 > 0:51:31That just made the Feds come down harder on Curtis.
0:51:31 > 0:51:34They kept accusing him of stealing this money
0:51:34 > 0:51:37and Curtis had no idea what they were talking about.
0:53:32 > 0:53:35- JOSHUA TERRY:- He didn't start out as some kind of Pablo Escobar.
0:53:37 > 0:53:41He tried to build something that would do away
0:53:41 > 0:53:44with the violence of the government and of the drug war.
0:53:46 > 0:53:48- MAN:- I'm pretty sure he was in over his head.
0:53:48 > 0:53:51He didn't really know how to control it once it was that big.
0:53:54 > 0:53:56That kind of stress and that kind of power that you have
0:53:56 > 0:53:57can change who you are.
0:54:38 > 0:54:42- TONYA GREEN:- One of the agents, Carl Force, a DEA undercover agent,
0:54:42 > 0:54:46sat him down and told him that he had been undercover on Silk Road
0:54:46 > 0:54:49and that he was using the handle Nob.
0:54:51 > 0:54:55And he told them that he had got a message from DPR that night
0:54:55 > 0:54:57that stated that he wanted him tortured
0:54:57 > 0:54:59so they could get the money back.
0:55:00 > 0:55:03The DEA agent told Curtis that, in order to keep his cover,
0:55:03 > 0:55:06because DPR believed him to be a drug vendor
0:55:06 > 0:55:08and an all-around "bad guy",
0:55:08 > 0:55:12he would have to pretend to torture Curtis...
0:55:13 > 0:55:15..and make it very believable,
0:55:15 > 0:55:18so DPR would think that he had done his job.
0:55:35 > 0:55:40They took him to a hotel in downtown Salt Lake City
0:55:40 > 0:55:42and they walked him up to the room.
0:55:48 > 0:55:51They asked him to take off his jacket.
0:55:53 > 0:55:55They made him get down on his knees
0:55:55 > 0:55:59and they filled up the bathtub full of water.
0:56:03 > 0:56:05They pushed his head down in the water
0:56:05 > 0:56:08and held it there for quite some time.
0:56:11 > 0:56:12Curtis was panicking.
0:56:12 > 0:56:16His arms were flailing, you know, he was trying to get up.
0:56:21 > 0:56:23And they still held him down as they snapped pictures.
0:56:33 > 0:56:35And he said it felt like it went on for ever,
0:56:35 > 0:56:37like it was never going to stop.
0:58:39 > 0:58:42- ANDY GREENBERG:- Whatever Ross Ulbricht eventually became,
0:58:42 > 0:58:45I think that he started the project...
0:58:45 > 0:58:48and his primary motive for the whole thing
0:58:48 > 0:58:51was about creating a kind of political movement
0:58:51 > 0:58:53in this little anarchic corner of the internet.
0:59:03 > 0:59:06And at some point, also,
0:59:06 > 0:59:08I think he felt that he was responsible
0:59:08 > 0:59:12to the Silk Road community, that he was protecting these people.
0:59:28 > 0:59:31And was willing to resort to violence
0:59:31 > 0:59:35to protect the community that he created.
1:00:14 > 1:00:17- WOMAN REPORTER:- A spokesman for Hazelden, that operates
1:00:17 > 1:00:20treatment centres for drug and alcohol addiction,
1:00:20 > 1:00:22agrees the war on drugs has been a failure...
1:00:34 > 1:00:36- TONYA GREEN:- Curtis came home from the second day
1:00:36 > 1:00:38of these interrogations
1:00:38 > 1:00:40and he took me by the hand
1:00:40 > 1:00:43and he said that the order had been switched
1:00:43 > 1:00:45from torture to kill.
1:00:47 > 1:00:50And I was so upset and so was Curtis.
1:00:50 > 1:00:52I mean, tears were streaming down his face.
1:00:52 > 1:00:54He's like, "What did I do to our family?"
1:01:00 > 1:01:05The DEA agent asked me to take some photographs of Curtis
1:01:05 > 1:01:08since, when they were in Salt Lake that weekend,
1:01:08 > 1:01:10they only took torture photos.
1:01:10 > 1:01:12They didn't take any death photos.
1:01:12 > 1:01:17So they asked me to stage it as best as I could that Curtis was dead.
1:01:19 > 1:01:23I took some Campbell's Chicken & Stars soup
1:01:23 > 1:01:27and had Curtis kind of chew it and smear it all over his face
1:01:27 > 1:01:30and had some kind of dribbling down
1:01:30 > 1:01:32and kind of on his shirt
1:01:32 > 1:01:35so it looked like he had vomited.
1:01:35 > 1:01:40And then I just had him lay very still so it looked like he was dead.
1:01:41 > 1:01:43It seemed really crazy that I was going to have to do this.
1:01:43 > 1:01:45I was shocked.
1:01:45 > 1:01:47Like, "Don't you want a professional doing this?"
1:01:48 > 1:01:50Taking these pictures was basically life or death.
1:01:50 > 1:01:52It was, it really was.
1:01:52 > 1:01:54If I didn't do a good enough job,
1:01:54 > 1:01:58then the gig was up and they would come after him
1:01:58 > 1:02:00and we wouldn't have any protection.
1:02:58 > 1:03:02- MAN:- Silk Road not only consumes your normal drug-dealing life,
1:03:02 > 1:03:04it consumes all your life.
1:03:13 > 1:03:17Even though it sounds very easy, the stress just, like, ramps up.
1:03:17 > 1:03:19"Is there going to be a tomorrow?
1:03:19 > 1:03:20"What am I going to be doing tomorrow?
1:03:20 > 1:03:23"Am I going to be OK tomorrow or am I going to be in jail?
1:03:23 > 1:03:24"Am I going to be dead tomorrow?"
1:03:44 > 1:03:48- AUSTIN BERGLAS: - Most bad guys make a mistake
1:03:48 > 1:03:51and the FBI is usually there when they make that mistake.
1:04:01 > 1:04:04We decided to just throw anything and everything
1:04:04 > 1:04:06at the Silk Road server.
1:04:07 > 1:04:11The goal was to try to, you know, poke the server
1:04:11 > 1:04:15to see if we can get information that shouldn't be given out.
1:04:15 > 1:04:19And all the while, we're using a very simple tool,
1:04:19 > 1:04:21a network packet sniffer,
1:04:21 > 1:04:24which basically captures the communication
1:04:24 > 1:04:28between our computer in the FBI that we were using
1:04:28 > 1:04:32and the computer that it ultimately communicates with.
1:04:38 > 1:04:42Eventually, we saw an IP address that really stood out.
1:04:47 > 1:04:50We took and copied that IP address.
1:04:51 > 1:04:54He throws it in a clean browser, a browser not related to Tor...
1:04:54 > 1:04:57..a traditional browser, and then hit "enter".
1:05:00 > 1:05:02And when we did that...
1:05:03 > 1:05:06..the Silk Road login page popped up.
1:05:13 > 1:05:15This was a huge moment for the investigation.
1:05:15 > 1:05:19It just proved that we'd found the true IP address
1:05:19 > 1:05:21for the location of the Silk Road server...
1:05:23 > 1:05:25..located in Iceland.
1:05:40 > 1:05:43The thing opens up and, sure enough, it's the server.
1:05:43 > 1:05:46It has the famous camel image of the Silk Road logo.
1:05:48 > 1:05:51When we were reviewing the server we learned that, behind the scenes,
1:05:51 > 1:05:54when DPR would log into the Silk Road server
1:05:54 > 1:05:58as an administrator, he wouldn't use his name DPR,
1:05:58 > 1:06:01he came up with another name.
1:06:01 > 1:06:02He came up with the name Frosty.
1:06:05 > 1:06:08And one of the things we were able to identify
1:06:08 > 1:06:13was a last known login from the administrator.
1:06:13 > 1:06:15An IP address that resolved back,
1:06:15 > 1:06:19that comes back to an actual internet cafe in San Francisco.
1:06:32 > 1:06:35AGENT ALFORD: So after continuing investigating Ross Ulbricht,
1:06:35 > 1:06:38I learn more about these technical terms about some of the programming
1:06:38 > 1:06:41that would go into running a site.
1:06:41 > 1:06:42As I learned these technical terms,
1:06:42 > 1:06:44I would continue doing these Google searches
1:06:44 > 1:06:46to see if something come up.
1:06:46 > 1:06:48So one of the terms was "code igniter",
1:06:48 > 1:06:50which is some programming language.
1:06:50 > 1:06:52So when I put that in with his name,
1:06:52 > 1:06:56I got a response back about a post on a website,
1:06:56 > 1:06:57tech Qs about programming.
1:06:57 > 1:07:02So when you click the link, it took me to another site - Stack Overflow.
1:07:03 > 1:07:05But the question on Stack Overflow
1:07:05 > 1:07:09was under his other avatar, called Frosty.
1:07:12 > 1:07:15A lot of people were looking into Silk Road,
1:07:15 > 1:07:18so there was an idea that there should be a meeting
1:07:18 > 1:07:21to get all interested parties to see if we can get all on the same page.
1:07:27 > 1:07:31You know, people having a case is like people and their babies.
1:07:31 > 1:07:33Everyone thinks their baby's beautiful,
1:07:33 > 1:07:35but there are some ugly babies out there.
1:07:37 > 1:07:41The Bureau had obtained a copy of the Silk Road server.
1:07:41 > 1:07:43It was just sitting on this computer.
1:07:43 > 1:07:46I believe it was an Apple and it was this big screen.
1:07:48 > 1:07:52On the board they had, like, these big diagrams,
1:07:52 > 1:07:54a picture of Dread Pirate Roberts from the movie,
1:07:54 > 1:07:56and I saw all these arrows.
1:07:56 > 1:07:58But I tried not to look at it
1:07:58 > 1:08:00because I'm there just to look at the server.
1:08:00 > 1:08:04Gary Alford, the IRS agent, he came in and he was, you know,
1:08:04 > 1:08:07as a new agent, as a new agent would, wanted to move things along.
1:08:08 > 1:08:10While I was there...
1:08:11 > 1:08:13..I heard in the background that someone said,
1:08:13 > 1:08:15"We had gone on some San Francisco address."
1:08:15 > 1:08:18So I mentioned, "Hey, I have a guy, a guy I'm looking at.
1:08:18 > 1:08:20"He lives in San Francisco."
1:08:20 > 1:08:23And he was like, "Really?" And I was like, "Yeah, yeah."
1:08:23 > 1:08:26I can't speak for them, but it didn't seem like I had dropped,
1:08:26 > 1:08:29like, the big key to the case on them.
1:08:29 > 1:08:31They were somewhat dismissive.
1:08:35 > 1:08:39So I immediately get on the phone and tell the prosecutor.
1:08:41 > 1:08:46I'm talking real fast, all excited, I'm so excited I had to slow down.
1:08:46 > 1:08:51He says, "Well, what's the address of this individual - Mr Ulbricht?"
1:08:53 > 1:08:57He runs it against an IP location the FBI had found,
1:08:57 > 1:09:00where there was some DPR activity...
1:09:00 > 1:09:03and he sees that they're around the corner from each other.
1:09:03 > 1:09:06So then he says, "We have to have a conference call between you,
1:09:06 > 1:09:08"the FBI and HSI immediately."
1:09:15 > 1:09:18At the time, I was in Chicago
1:09:18 > 1:09:21and that's where I called into the conference call.
1:09:24 > 1:09:26All it really was is that he had a target in San Francisco
1:09:26 > 1:09:28and he saw that we had San Francisco logins.
1:09:28 > 1:09:31I thought, at the time, that it was almost too easy,
1:09:31 > 1:09:35that a guy wouldn't be as open as using his name in an e-mail account
1:09:35 > 1:09:38and he had videos of himself on YouTube
1:09:38 > 1:09:41and just open stuff to the public.
1:09:43 > 1:09:45AGENT ALFORD: But in his summary,
1:09:45 > 1:09:48the prosecutor forgot to mention the link to Frosty.
1:09:48 > 1:09:50So then, when he finished, I said,
1:09:50 > 1:09:52"Well, there's one other link I found.
1:09:52 > 1:09:56"I found that Ross Ulbricht was linked to this avatar Frosty."
1:09:59 > 1:10:00He immediately...
1:10:00 > 1:10:04The FBI agent started coming in, like, "What? What was that?
1:10:04 > 1:10:06"What is this Frosty? What is the significance of Frosty?"
1:10:06 > 1:10:08So I explained to him that's just the avatar he used.
1:10:08 > 1:10:10You know, I thought it was kind of strange
1:10:10 > 1:10:13he was asking this question, but then he says,
1:10:13 > 1:10:15"Well, the reason I keep asking this is because
1:10:15 > 1:10:18"whoever's running Silk Road, DPR,
1:10:18 > 1:10:21"that is the name of the user that operates the site - Frosty."
1:10:24 > 1:10:26It started becoming apparent
1:10:26 > 1:10:29that this was a very, very likely target for us.
1:10:29 > 1:10:32AGENT ALFORD: I actually felt more pressure than I had felt before.
1:10:34 > 1:10:36We started gathering all the information
1:10:36 > 1:10:38to get an arrest warrant for Mr Ulbricht.
1:10:57 > 1:11:00Ross responded to a Craigslist ad that we had posted online,
1:11:00 > 1:11:03renting out the room directly above mine in the house.
1:11:06 > 1:11:10Ross lived a really simple life, a very modest life.
1:11:10 > 1:11:14He did buy some furniture from a garage sale down the street.
1:11:16 > 1:11:19I never got the sense that Ross was really well off.
1:11:21 > 1:11:25He was kind of doing whatever he was on his computer
1:11:25 > 1:11:27just to pay rent and get by.
1:11:29 > 1:11:34Ross said he worked on websites and, at one point, I remember he said
1:11:34 > 1:11:37he worked in trading currency, as well,
1:11:37 > 1:11:41and I remember asking him, I was like, "Oh, like bitcoin?"
1:11:41 > 1:11:43Kind of jokingly, because it was something I'd read about
1:11:43 > 1:11:46that I thought was just this far-fetched idea.
1:11:46 > 1:11:47And, you know, he kind of was just like,
1:11:47 > 1:11:49"Oh, there's a little bit of that."
1:11:55 > 1:11:57DPR COMPUTER VOICE: I'm so stupid.
1:12:00 > 1:12:03Everyone knows I'm working on a bitcoin exchange.
1:12:14 > 1:12:17It felt wrong to lie completely,
1:12:17 > 1:12:20so I tried to tell the truth
1:12:20 > 1:12:22without revealing the bad part.
1:12:29 > 1:12:32- JULIE VIE: - So I started messaging Ross.
1:12:32 > 1:12:35You know, "How have you been? What have you been up to?"
1:12:35 > 1:12:37And then he started telling me how he was in San Francisco
1:12:37 > 1:12:40and how San Francisco was super beautiful,
1:12:40 > 1:12:42but it was kind of cold right then.
1:12:45 > 1:12:48So I just booked a trip and flew out to come see him.
1:12:57 > 1:13:00Honestly, I knew he was working on something and that was it
1:13:00 > 1:13:03and I don't think it was really working out that well.
1:13:03 > 1:13:07So he was just living, you know, within his means,
1:13:07 > 1:13:09which was at that three-bedroom house.
1:13:10 > 1:13:11DPR COMPUTER VOICE:
1:13:16 > 1:13:18I didn't go into it with that intention,
1:13:18 > 1:13:21but I definitely hoped that Ross and I would end up back together.
1:13:21 > 1:13:23He was always the one that got away, kind of thing.
1:13:25 > 1:13:27- ULBRICHT:- I'm pretty sure I want to start a family
1:13:27 > 1:13:29in the next five years.
1:13:29 > 1:13:31Erm...
1:13:31 > 1:13:33And, er...
1:13:33 > 1:13:35And, er, just...
1:13:35 > 1:13:38Yeah, make more friends and close people I love.
1:13:39 > 1:13:41Yeah, I want to focus on...
1:13:42 > 1:13:44..erm...being more connected to people.
1:13:56 > 1:13:58September 30th, 2013,
1:13:58 > 1:14:01is when I took my flight into San Francisco.
1:14:01 > 1:14:04At that time I was monitoring DPR Roberts 24/7 with my account.
1:14:41 > 1:14:44It was important to really become that identity
1:14:44 > 1:14:48and what I did is I sat down with Scout
1:14:48 > 1:14:50for the next three or four days
1:14:50 > 1:14:53and fully debriefed that person on everything.
1:14:54 > 1:14:56There is different lingo that I had to become accustomed to,
1:14:56 > 1:15:00every single way that they wrote things to what they were thinking.
1:15:02 > 1:15:05We needed to know the full history of that account.
1:15:08 > 1:15:10Even when I left, I had another agent
1:15:10 > 1:15:13monitor the account while I was in the air.
1:15:15 > 1:15:19I was really still trying to take in the whole thought
1:15:19 > 1:15:22that we were potentially on the cusp of arresting this person
1:15:22 > 1:15:24that we'd been pursuing for so long.
1:15:32 > 1:15:35We wanted to get him in a spot where we can grab him,
1:15:35 > 1:15:38machine open, without trying to force our way in.
1:15:42 > 1:15:45It was critical for us to get Mr Ulbricht on the laptop
1:15:45 > 1:15:46for a couple of reasons.
1:15:46 > 1:15:50Number one, what better evidence to show that he is Dread Pirate Roberts
1:15:50 > 1:15:52than he is typing away as Dread Pirate Roberts
1:15:52 > 1:15:54at the time of arrest?
1:15:54 > 1:15:58Secondly, there could be valuable information on the laptop.
1:15:58 > 1:16:01He's aware of encryption,
1:16:01 > 1:16:03so he may do something to the laptop to encrypt it
1:16:03 > 1:16:06to put it in a state that we can't get access to the information.
1:16:11 > 1:16:14He lived in a three-flat and he was up on the top of it
1:16:14 > 1:16:17and we would have to get through a very large steel door
1:16:17 > 1:16:20and try to get to him before he would do anything to his laptop.
1:16:21 > 1:16:26So our plan was to take the chance of having Ross leave his residence,
1:16:26 > 1:16:28open his laptop, log in,
1:16:28 > 1:16:32and actually grab him in the middle of either chatting with Jared
1:16:32 > 1:16:34or being on the site.
1:16:35 > 1:16:38- JARED:- Surveillance still had him at his home
1:16:38 > 1:16:41and so we waited in one of the neighbourhoods really close by.
1:16:53 > 1:16:55I had put in my request to travel out
1:16:55 > 1:16:57because I was to be on the interview team
1:16:57 > 1:17:00because I knew the most about Mr Ulbricht.
1:17:00 > 1:17:03But I couldn't get the approval to fly out in time for the arrest.
1:17:04 > 1:17:07It was affecting investigations
1:17:07 > 1:17:10probably in almost every state and globally,
1:17:10 > 1:17:14and it all was coming down to this identification that I had made
1:17:14 > 1:17:15of Mr Ulbricht.
1:17:16 > 1:17:18Was there doubt? Yes.
1:17:18 > 1:17:21There's... There's no certainty in this job.
1:17:29 > 1:17:33All too often in investigations, it's about 20 hours of pure boredom
1:17:33 > 1:17:35followed by five minutes of sheer terror.
1:17:40 > 1:17:42Jared's a young agent.
1:17:42 > 1:17:46At this point, he was tense. You could tell he was tense at the time.
1:17:53 > 1:17:56Later on in the day, he signed off from being online
1:17:56 > 1:17:59and I took that opportunity to go order a coffee.
1:18:03 > 1:18:06That's when the call comes in from the SO team
1:18:06 > 1:18:08that Ross is leaving his apartment
1:18:08 > 1:18:09and he's got his laptop bag with him.
1:18:14 > 1:18:17All I was thinking, really, at the time was,
1:18:17 > 1:18:18"I'm not going to get this coffee out in time
1:18:18 > 1:18:20"and I'm going to have to leave it."
1:18:20 > 1:18:23Because you've got to do what you've got to do to accomplish a mission,
1:18:23 > 1:18:25but I'm like, "I really want that coffee, too!"
1:18:27 > 1:18:29I exited the cafe
1:18:29 > 1:18:33and I saw one of the FBI specialists that was from New York,
1:18:33 > 1:18:36Thomas Kiernan, sitting on a bench across the street.
1:18:36 > 1:18:39And so I went over there and I joined him and I put my computer up.
1:18:41 > 1:18:42I looked over to my right
1:18:42 > 1:18:45and there I saw Ulbricht standing on the street corner,
1:18:45 > 1:18:48about 40 feet away from me.
1:18:48 > 1:18:52This was the man that was running this global drug empire.
1:18:53 > 1:18:56He looked like a San Francisco techie kid
1:18:56 > 1:19:00that you'd expect to have a start-up company somewhere in San Fran,
1:19:00 > 1:19:02getting ready to launch his site.
1:19:03 > 1:19:05Light turns green and he crosses the street...
1:19:07 > 1:19:09..where he went to the Glen Park Library.
1:19:14 > 1:19:17- WOMAN:- It was a Tuesday afternoon, it was after three o'clock.
1:19:19 > 1:19:24Glen Park is a small branch of the San Francisco public library system.
1:19:24 > 1:19:27It tends to be that not much happens there.
1:19:28 > 1:19:32The library has Wi-Fi, and the Wi-Fi is thought to be best in the corner,
1:19:32 > 1:19:35where the young man was sitting - the science-fiction section.
1:19:39 > 1:19:43At that time, the FBI agent came and met me back at the bench
1:19:43 > 1:19:44with Thomas Kiernan,
1:19:44 > 1:19:46trying to get the rest of the agents that were on site at the time
1:19:46 > 1:19:48into the library.
1:19:48 > 1:19:51We waited and, after a few minutes,
1:19:51 > 1:19:54Dread Pirate Roberts did come online and on the staff chat.
1:19:54 > 1:19:57And I immediately sent him a message...
1:20:01 > 1:20:05Jared and I are sitting on the bench across the street from the library,
1:20:05 > 1:20:08waiting for DPR to log in and start chatting.
1:20:24 > 1:20:26- Recording right now?- Mm-hm.
1:20:26 > 1:20:28Oh, erm...
1:20:29 > 1:20:33I don't know what to say. Ask me a question or something, interview me.
1:20:33 > 1:20:37I asked him to do me a favour and to look at one of these messages
1:20:37 > 1:20:39that I had control over.
1:20:39 > 1:20:41And what that would do is it would require him
1:20:41 > 1:20:42to log into the marketplace.
1:20:44 > 1:20:47He ends up telling me, "OK, which post?"
1:20:48 > 1:20:50And once he did that,
1:20:50 > 1:20:54that let me know that he was on that page I asked him to go to
1:20:54 > 1:20:57and that's the time that I gave the cue to the FBI agent
1:20:57 > 1:20:58to do the arrest.
1:21:00 > 1:21:03I'm already on my way across the street into the library
1:21:03 > 1:21:06and I guess that's when the case agents start...
1:21:06 > 1:21:09Their communications are, "This is about to go."
1:21:10 > 1:21:13It's hard to describe. The adrenaline is flowing.
1:21:13 > 1:21:15It's a good energy, basically.
1:21:18 > 1:21:20We got into this little huddle in the middle of the library.
1:21:20 > 1:21:24I'm sure it looked odd to some people, but it was very quick.
1:21:28 > 1:21:31And that's when we came up with this plan for a diversion.
1:21:33 > 1:21:36Two agents come right behind where Ross was sitting, if I was Ross,
1:21:36 > 1:21:39sitting right behind me, and they start yelling,
1:21:39 > 1:21:42they start getting into a fight, a verbal fight.
1:21:44 > 1:21:48Ross turns around to go look what's going on
1:21:48 > 1:21:50and during that time,
1:21:50 > 1:21:54that's when the third agent grabs the laptop from him.
1:21:54 > 1:21:57That's when I come out of my positioning and grab the laptop
1:21:57 > 1:22:00from the third agent at the time.
1:22:10 > 1:22:14This was so unusual, for someone to be arrested in the Glen Park Library,
1:22:14 > 1:22:17that I actually did run back and text my son on my phone, saying,
1:22:17 > 1:22:21"Just to let you know, a bunch of FBI agents just came in
1:22:21 > 1:22:23"and busted a guy and took him out in handcuffs!"
1:22:23 > 1:22:26Because he always thinks my job is so boring.
1:22:26 > 1:22:28The most disturbing thing, to me, about it
1:22:28 > 1:22:31was that my son knew exactly what Silk Road was!
1:22:31 > 1:22:32SHE LAUGHS
1:22:32 > 1:22:34But I don't know why he knew that.
1:22:36 > 1:22:40There's no way to really describe it but everything, everything is there.
1:22:40 > 1:22:45Everything is on that machine and it's all laid out, it's organised,
1:22:45 > 1:22:48it's...it's unbelievable.
1:22:48 > 1:22:49It's the smoking gun.
1:22:50 > 1:22:54A secret website that played host to a massive black-market drug ring
1:22:54 > 1:22:56is offline this morning.
1:22:56 > 1:23:00The alleged mastermind goes by the nickname Dread Pirate Roberts.
1:23:03 > 1:23:08AGENT ALFORD: I got an e-mail from Jared when he got him and he said,
1:23:08 > 1:23:10"Gary, you were right."
1:23:11 > 1:23:13And that was a great moment.
1:23:13 > 1:23:16I had done my job well, so there was a sense,
1:23:16 > 1:23:18I felt a sense of satisfaction.
1:23:44 > 1:23:47He was supposed to fly down and come see me
1:23:47 > 1:23:49and we were going to get back together
1:23:49 > 1:23:52and he was probably going to move in with me and then he got arrested.
1:23:53 > 1:23:56Two days before he was supposed to fly in and come see me.
1:23:56 > 1:24:00I had my friend call me and say, "Oh, my God, did you hear?"
1:24:00 > 1:24:02And I said, "What are you talking about?"
1:24:02 > 1:24:04She said, "Google Ross's name right now."
1:24:18 > 1:24:22After having, you know, had enough time to digest it, it's like,
1:24:22 > 1:24:25"Well, can I see Ross being involved in something,
1:24:25 > 1:24:27"you know, online? Yes.
1:24:27 > 1:24:29"Can I see Ross being involved in something to do with bitcoins? Yes.
1:24:29 > 1:24:33"Can I see Ross being involved in something to do with drugs? Yes."
1:24:33 > 1:24:38But the idea that the alleged owner and operator of the Silk Road,
1:24:38 > 1:24:41this mastermind character, was Ross,
1:24:41 > 1:24:44that would've been, you know, beyond unbelievable.
1:24:44 > 1:24:46MALE REPORTER: Perhaps the most intriguing charge
1:24:46 > 1:24:47against the 29-year-old
1:24:47 > 1:24:51is that he was engaged in a murder-for-hire conspiracy,
1:24:51 > 1:24:55trying to enlist the help of one of the site's users to execute another.
1:25:13 > 1:25:17DPR always talked about taking away violence off the streets.
1:25:17 > 1:25:22But then, hearing about the attempted murder-for-hire,
1:25:22 > 1:25:25it just cut against everything that he was saying on the site.
1:25:25 > 1:25:30Ross was very non-violent. He didn't believe in force.
1:25:30 > 1:25:34So a lot of the stuff in the media about how he tried to kill someone
1:25:34 > 1:25:37through a hit man and all this stuff, it's just not Ross.
1:25:37 > 1:25:40The idea that he would ever have made the leap
1:25:40 > 1:25:43from "the best way to implement my vision
1:25:43 > 1:25:45"of a more market-based
1:25:45 > 1:25:48"and less compulsion and violence-oriented society
1:25:48 > 1:25:51"is to have people murdered" is...
1:25:51 > 1:25:53I mean, it's absurd on its face.
1:25:53 > 1:25:56To me, it wasn't surprising, because this is the drug business
1:25:56 > 1:25:58and that's what goes on in the drug business.
1:25:58 > 1:26:00Eventually, you do these illegal things
1:26:00 > 1:26:03and, you know, even if you have good intentions,
1:26:03 > 1:26:05you're around a bunch of criminal actors.
1:26:26 > 1:26:28The creator of a hugely successful
1:26:28 > 1:26:30and potentially dangerous tech start-up
1:26:30 > 1:26:32learnt just moments ago
1:26:32 > 1:26:35that he will spend the rest of his life in prison.
1:26:35 > 1:26:36So it's life in prison,
1:26:36 > 1:26:39that's what a judge handed down to Ross Ulbricht,
1:26:39 > 1:26:41the founder of the online black-market site
1:26:41 > 1:26:42known as Silk Road.
1:26:42 > 1:26:46Prior to the sentencing, Ross Ulbricht addressed the courtroom
1:26:46 > 1:26:49and he said that if he is ever to see the light of day,
1:26:49 > 1:26:51he's now a completely changed man
1:26:51 > 1:26:55and he will live in full accordance with the law.
1:26:55 > 1:26:56The judge came back and said,
1:26:56 > 1:26:59- "No, you wanted this to be your legacy, right?"- Right.
1:26:59 > 1:27:02She said, "You wanted this to be your legacy,
1:27:02 > 1:27:05"you wanted it to be your legacy and now it is."
1:27:05 > 1:27:07The result of taking down the Silk Road has been that,
1:27:07 > 1:27:11you know, dozens of dark web drug markets have taken its place,
1:27:11 > 1:27:14some of which are doing far more business, far more revenue,
1:27:14 > 1:27:19far more narcotics than the Silk Road ever did in sales.
1:27:19 > 1:27:22And many of them lack the...
1:27:22 > 1:27:25the ideals that the Silk Road did have.
1:27:25 > 1:27:26The dark web has only gotten darker.
1:27:30 > 1:27:32The biggest struggle for me
1:27:32 > 1:27:36is kind of reconciling the two, the two people.
1:27:36 > 1:27:39So, like, Dread Pirate Roberts and Ross Ulbricht.
1:27:41 > 1:27:46But I think the internet kind of enables people
1:27:46 > 1:27:48to act in a way they might not normally,
1:27:48 > 1:27:51just cos there's a very big disconnect between
1:27:51 > 1:27:54what you do online and what you do in your physical life.
1:27:56 > 1:27:58Have you got any more questions or should we wrap it up?
1:27:58 > 1:28:00Yeah, future outlook.
1:28:00 > 1:28:04What are you going to do over the next 20 years?
1:28:06 > 1:28:0820 years...
1:28:08 > 1:28:09Er...
1:28:10 > 1:28:12I want to have had a...
1:28:13 > 1:28:17..a substantial, positive impact on the future of humanity by that time.
1:28:17 > 1:28:20- Do you think you're going to live forever?- I think it's a possibility.