Lawyers for the mastermind behind the world's largest online drug emporium — who was sentenced to life in prison without parole last week — say their appeal will rely at least in part on alleged government corruption deemed immaterial during the trial.

Former DEA agent Carl Force and US Secret Service agent Shaun Bridges were part of the Baltimore Silk Road task force — known as SA Force — before the site, founded and operated by 31-year-old Ross Ulbricht, was shut down in late 2013.

Both were indicted in March on charges of money laundering, wire fraud, and theft of government property for allegedly stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bitcoins during their undercover investigation. While Force "stole and converted to his own personal use a sizeable amount of bitcoins," Bridges "without authority, developed additional online personas and engaged in a broad range of illegal activities calculated to bring him personal financial gain," according to the criminal complaint filed against them.