Alleged Silk Road Mentor Extradited to U.S. After More Than 2 Years in Thai Prison

The U.S. Attorney’s office revealed Friday that 56-year-old Roger Clark is being extradited back to the states to face new charges related to his alleged work on the notorious narcotics site.

Dark Web Silk road
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Image via Getty/Thomas Trutschel

Dark Web Silk road

It’s been nearly five years since the FBI shut down Silk Road, a dark web staple for purchasing illegal drugs. The site’s founder, Ross Ulbricht, aka Dread Pirate Roberts, is still serving his life sentence without parole after being found guilty in 2015 on seven counts of conspiracy to commit money laundering, drug trafficking, and computer hacking. 

Now, as the Verge reports, the U.S. is taking legal action against Ulbricht’s alleged mentor and partner Roger Clark. The 56-year-old Canadian also known as Variety Jones, VJ, and Cimon, has been sitting in a Thai prison since December 2015, but the U.S. Attorney’s office revealed Friday that Clark is being extradited back to America to face new charges related to his work on the notorious narcotics site.

Clark not only served as an advisor to Ulbricht, but also took care of the back end of the site. According to the Verge, Clark “hired programmers to maintain and speed up the site" and  "maintained and created rules for the Silk Road community.” He also kept tabs on local law enforcement efforts to take down the site.

Clark, like Ulbricht, is facing charges like narcotics trafficking and money laundering. He could face anywhere from 10 years to life in prison if convicted, which seems likely considering a jury took only four hours to find Ulbricht guilty on all counts back in 2015.

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“They don’t have shit on me,” Clark told Ars Technica in 2016, after he was arrested by Thai police. “I’m not going [to the U.S.]. It’s an impossible circumstance.”

It's unclear when Clark will face trial. 

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