Trump pardons ‘Silk Road’ drug kingpin in surprise move

United States President Donald Trump said today that he had pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the man behind the “Silk Road” online marketplace that facilitated millions of dollars of drug sales.

In 2015, Ulbricht was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of masterminding the “dark web” platform, on which some US$200 million ($353m) in narcotics were sold to customers across the world.

Ulbricht, who ran Silk Road under the alias “Dread Pirate Roberts” and who had also been accused of commissioning five murders, was sentenced to two life sentences for narcotics distribution and criminal enterprise.

On the campaign trail last year, Trump had promised to free Ulbricht during a speech at the Libertarian National Convention, as he sought to gain the fringe party’s support.