Minnesota man charged in $1.3M drug bust

A man who authorities say used the online drug marketplace Silk Road to sell hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of drugs has been charged in a multimillion-dollar online drug bust in Minnesota, authorities said Friday.

John Andrew Cone, 28, of Eden Prairie, was arrested Friday in Minnesota’s western state, authorities announced.

He is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute, possess and deliver controlled substances, authorities in Minneapolis said.

Authorities say Cone was arrested at a Minneapolis hotel by state and federal agents after authorities received information that he was operating a website on the site called Silk Road.

Authorities said Cone allegedly used Silk Road as a platform for distributing drugs, weapons and counterfeit goods.

Authorities said he also used the website to sell more than 100 pounds of heroin.

Cone is due in court Monday.

Cone is a licensed real estate agent who has been in Minnesota for more than two years.

He was charged Friday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota with one of the federal drug conspiracy counts.