DARKMARKET

Despite all the new information, there was still nothing Crabb could do about Script. He was in the Ukraine - unlike Maksym Kovalchuk, who was arrested with his wife for the Autodesk fraud in a Bangkok milk-bar three months after Roman Vega had been picked up in Nicosia. Just as Vega was extradited to California from Cyprus, so Kovalchuk headed to the West Coast from Thailand.

Script had no intention of leaving his home country and, to protect himself further, he announced on CarderPlanet in early 2004 that he was resigning his authority and would be leaving the site for good.

As always, Script had a plan. He had made sufficient money from those carding activities, which he had memorably described as 'guilt-free', and now he wanted to invest in legitimate businesses. Perhaps he was hoping to head off future unpleasantness. Perhaps he had ambitions beyond the cybersphere. He made his dramatic announcement on CarderPlanet - he would be handing over the administration of the website to a trusted consigliere and would no longer tread the Planet's boards.

Script, it seems, was going straight. But there was one thing he hadn't bargained for.

Revolution.