I think our world views may differ. For example I believe that corruption / illegal activities don't stop because you're using a traceable monetary system.
And we probably also will disagree that non-traceable monetary systems are difficult or impossible to monitor illegal activities from. Simply the fact that the transactions happen over the web likely makes it easier for law enforcement to get a hold on what types of transactions are happening within something like Silk Road.
Media makes us think Silk Road was not monitored or that it was somehow immune to law enforcement. I disagree whole heartedly.