Incognito Market Operator Rui-Siang Lin Sentenced to 30 Years in Major Dark Web Case
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Key Takeaways
- Criminal Sentencing: Rui-Siang Lin, operator of the Incognito Market, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for narcotics distribution, money laundering, and selling misbranded medication.
- Massive Scale of Operation: The dark web marketplace facilitated over $105 million in narcotics sales, including more than 1,000 kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamines, to over 400,000 users.
- Lethal Consequences: The platform was linked to at least one fatality after a user died from consuming fentanyl-laced pills sold as oxycodone on the site.
Rui-Siang Lin, the operator of the prolific Incognito Market dark web platform, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon after Lin pled guilty to charges including narcotics conspiracy and money laundering. The court also ordered the forfeiture of over $105 million.
Lin, 24, of Taiwan, who operated under the pseudonym "Pharaoh," was the ultimate authority behind the marketplace, which facilitated more than $105 million in illegal drug sales from its inception in October 2020 until its closure in March 2024.
Incognito Market's Impact on Global Narcotics Trafficking
The Incognito Market functioned as a sophisticated dark web drug marketplace, serving a global customer base of over 400,000 buyer accounts and 1,800 vendors. LIN was a founding member since October 2020 and operated it from approximately January 2022 until LIN closed it in March 2024.
Lin’s operation significantly contributed to global narcotics trafficking by providing an anonymous and accessible channel for distributing vast quantities of illicit substances, including cocaine, methamphetamines, and heroin, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The operation was directly linked to at least one death due to the sale of fentanyl-laced pills misrepresented as oxycodone. In imposing the sentence, Judge McMahon stated to the defendant that Incognito Market was a business that made Lin “a drug kingpin."
Extortion Attempts
The platform processed more than 640,000 individual narcotics transactions, collecting a 5% commission on each sale through its internal cryptocurrency banking system, the “Incognito Bank.” In its final days, Lin shut down the marketplace and attempted to extort users by threatening to release their transaction histories.
The sentencing of Rui-Siang Lin shows that the perceived anonymity of the dark web does not provide immunity from prosecution. U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton emphasized that technology does not grant a license to operate criminal enterprises.
Two darknet operators pleaded guilty last month, and in late December, a former Coinbase support agent was arrested in India over an insider data breach.
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