Ross Ulbricht: The online drug kingpin pardoned by Donald Trump

Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht was one of the hundreds of prisoners who walked free thanks to a pardon from US president Donald Trump.

His online marketplace facilitated the sale of everything from illegal drugs to weapons, hacking equipment to stolen passports, all delivered to your door at the push of a button. He had more than a million customers worldwide.

The campaign for his release began as soon as his double life sentence was handed down in 2015. They came from his family; his mother Lyn was tireless in her lobbying and also from the Libertarian Movement whose the support Trump sought in the run up to the presidential election.

New York Times technology reporter David Yaffe Bellany explains the background.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey.

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