The first Silk Road was taken down by the FBI a few months ago and the leader, Dread Pirate Roberts, was arrested. It was only a few weeks later that a new leader, also with the name Dread Pirate Roberts, rebooted the online black market with Silk Road 2.0. Howver, for reasons unknown, Dread Pirate Roberts has taken an indefinite leave from Silk Road 2.0.

The new iteration of Silk Road, a popular online black-market bazaar for drugs and other contraband, returned from a scheduled week of holiday downtime Saturday — but without its former leader. Silk Road’s operator, who goes by the alias “Dread Pirate Roberts” or “DPR,” has been noticeably absent from the site’s forums since three of his top lieutenants were arrested in a global sting on Dec. 20. A new administrator “Defcon” has assumed temporary control of the site, and confirmed that Dread Pirate Roberts has taken an indefinite leave of absence.