Last June, democratic US senators Charles E. Schumer of New York and Joe Manchin of West Virginia called on federal officials to shut down the website Silk Road, which they called an “online marketplace for illegal drugs’’ that uses Tor technology. Schumer and Manchin were responding to an article by the media site Gawker.com that detailed drug dealing on Silk Road using a digital currency called “bitcoins.’’
Despite the senators’ call for action - addressed to US Attorney General Eric Holder and MicheleLeonhart, the administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Silk Road was still up and running Wednesday.
Representatives from Silk Road did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment Wednesday.
DEA spokesman Rusty Payne said the agency couldn’t comment on the senators’ letter because it is “is part of an ongoing investigation.’’
A Boston Globe editor and reporter were able to access the site after downloading Tor Project software and registering as Silk Road users. Described as an “anonymous marketplace,’’ the site promotes its ability to “protect your identity through every step of the process, from connecting to this site, to purchasing your items, to finally receiving them,’’ through the use of Tor technology. The homepage features pictures of various drugs for sale - including heroin and cocaine - and allows buyers to place them in a shopping cart, similar to those on Amazon and other consumer sites.
In addition to drugs, the site purports to provide access to other illegal products, including forged documents, and links to a separate marketplace called the Armory, designated for “small arms weaponry for the purpose of self defense.’’
Federal law enforcement officials acknowledge that Tor technology makes investigations of suspected illegal online activity more difficult, but they emphasize that it doesn’t mean criminals can avoid detection. For instance, they say, even though an online drug deal may be anonymous, real money eventually has to be exchanged and the buyer must receive a physical package.
Investigators also have become more sophisticated in their efforts to hunt down criminals, they said.
