Digital currency seized in alleged drug law violation in Charleston
In a case believed to be the first of its kind, federal authorities have seized a Charleston man's virtual currency due to an alleged drug law violation with possible links to a shadowy online black market.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration recently posted a forfeiture notice indicating that agents had seized 11.02 Bitcoins worth $814 from 31-year-old Eric Daniel Hughes for allegedly violating the federal Controlled Substances Act. No other details were provided.
The seizure appears to mark the first time the federal government has gone after Bitcoins. That's prompted a flurry of speculation that the DEA had infiltrated the infamous Silk Road website, an off-the-grid marketplace where drugs are traded and Bitcoins are the only accepted currency.
“This is the first time something like this has happened with Bitcoin,” Adam B. Levine, editor and chief of the website Let's Talk Bitcoin!, which tracks developments with the currency and first reported on the seizure. “And the interesting subtext is: We don't have any idea just how involved the DEA is with Bitcoins.”
http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20130707/PC16/130709585/1177/digital-currency-seized-in-alleged-drug-law-violation-in-charleston
