Shutdown of Silk Road Cuts off Drugs and Counterfeiters

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Last night's FBI shutdown of Silk Road, referred to by many as "Amazon for drugs," has all the crucial elements of a great news story. The man who ran the online marketplace liked to refer to himself as the, "Dread Pirate Roberts" as taken from The Princess Bride. The site was hidden away on the "deep web," accessible only through a special browser. Shoppers had to use bitcoins to transact on the site. Finally, it seemed, there was a real reason to use bitcoins!

Most of the coverage has focused on the site's brisk trade in illegal drugs like pot, LSD, meth, you name it. But there were other sections of Silk Road offering art, books, even clothing and accessories. Now that the site's been seized, it's impossible to search its inventory, but according to this guy, 100% of the apparel was counterfeit. One Redditer backs that up, saying that his wife wasn't able to find a knock-off style she liked on Silk Road and asking for input as to where else on the deep web to look for fakes.

It's pretty clear that in the wake of the Silk Road shutdown, shoppers will go underground elsewhere for their faux designer purses and clothing—like the still-operational Black Market Reloaded. Oh, and for drugs. All those drugs.
· Feds Raid Underground Drug Market Silk Road, Arrest Alleged Owner [Gawker]
· Unravelling the dark web [GQ]