Silk Road takedown (2013)
The FBI shut down Silk Road, the first major darknet marketplace, in October 2013. Founder Ross Ulbricht, operating as 'Dread Pirate Roberts,' was arrested and later sentenced to life in prison.
The marketplace was taken offline and Ulbricht was convicted on multiple charges.
Established the precedent that darknet marketplaces are not beyond the reach of U.S. law enforcement.
Like Xinbi, Silk Road was a trust-based marketplace for illicit transactions. Its takedown showed that law enforcement can dismantle such platforms by targeting their operators and infrastructure.
