Ross Ulbricht, the convicted creator of the online drug market Silk Road, did not run the site alone.

Over its three year history, Ulbricht hired a small staff of forum moderators and market administrators to help keep the cogs of a multi-million dollar business moving—many of whom have now been apprehended by the authorities.

There were two crucial but lesser-known players involved who have yet to be publicly unmasked, however.

These individuals coded large portions of the site and attempted to expand Silk Road from a single drug market into a cryptographic empire with a range of services.

Through a source, Motherboard has gained access to emails sent and received by one of those characters, who is perhaps best known by the pseudonym Variety Jones. This reporter has seen first hand the contents of this email account, and verified that it is legitimate.

The information in these emails led to two names: Mike Wattier and Thomas Clark.

Variety Jones

Variety Jones joined Silk Road in 2011, according to site archives maintained by the security researcher Runa Sandvik. He was known as a vendor of marijuana seeds, and his aversion to the failed War on Drugs was clear from his postings on the site forums.