17.7.18

Irishman extradited to the US to face charges relating to Silk Road



Gary Davis accused of working as an administrator for the notorious dark web marketplace appears in a federal court in New York
A 30-year-old Irish man accused of working for the dark web marketplace Silk Road has been extradited to the United States to face charges.
Gary Davis, was arrested in 2014 and charged with being an administrator for the now defunct dark web site. Davis went by the alias “Libertas” and allegedly began his role in 2013.
According to a report by RTE.ie, Mr. Davis is “charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute narcotics, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, one count of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering”.
It is alleged that the accused was paid a weekly salary — reported to be $1,500 per week— and his duties on the site included making transactions between drug dealers and buyers run smoothly.
He has appeared before a federal court in Manhattan, New York. If found guilty, Mr. Davis could receive a life sentence.
In an official press release, Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York said: “Gary Davis allegedly served as an administrator who helped run the Silk Road, a secret online marketplace for illegal drugs, hacking services, and an assortment of other criminal activities.  Thanks to our partner agencies here and abroad, Davis now faces justice in an American court.”
Mr. Davis had appealed the extradition order on the grounds that he suffers from both a form of autism known as Asperger’s Syndrome and depression. That appeal was rejected by the High Court in Dublin, Ireland, in February 2018.
During its two and half year run, Silk Road was a haven for several thousand drug dealers and other cybercriminals that used the virtual marketplace to distribute drugs, weapons and other illegal items to over 100,000 buyers.
The founder of Silk Road, Ross Ulbricht a.k.a. “Dread Pirate Roberts”, was sentenced to life in prison in 2015 following a high-profile FBI investigation following his arrest in a San Francisco public library.