Cyber Drug Bazaar’s Alleged Boss Paired EBay Style, Crime

The Silk Road website, before being shut this week by the U.S., was a cyber-bazaar of the criminal underworld that connected buyers and sellers of heroin, cocaine and hacking services. It combined EBay-style customer reviews and shipping tips with an open disregard for the law.

“We are happy to announce a new category in the marketplace called Forgeries,” the site’s alleged 29-year-old overseer, who called himself Dread Pirate Roberts, said in a message posted Aug. 5, 2011, according to a criminal complaint in Manhattan federal court. “In this category, you will find offers for forged, government issued documents including fake IDs and passports.”