Operator of the dark web platform Incognito Market sentenced to 30 years in prison., 2026/02/04 16:52:39

The Southern District Court of New York sentenced 24-year-old Taiwanese citizen Rui-Siang Lin, who operated the darknet platform Incognito Market under the alias Pharaoh, to 30 years in prison for drug trafficking, selling counterfeit medications, and laundering money through cryptocurrencies.

In addition to the prison term, the individual is also subject to five years of supervised release, and $105 million is to be confiscated from him. Lin was apprehended by law enforcement in May 2024, and he pleaded guilty in December of the same year.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the darknet market Incognito was established in October 2020 and ceased operations in March 2024. During its existence, the darknet marketplace facilitated the sale of drugs worth over $105 million globally, including more than a ton of cocaine, approximately a ton of methamphetamine, as well as hundreds of kilograms of other substances and mislabeled prescription medications. Access to Incognito Market was available via the Tor browser. Lin personally oversaw the operations on the platform, including managing employees, suppliers, and customers, as reported by law enforcement.

To become a seller on Incognito Market, interested individuals were required to register on the platform and pay an entry fee. Each seller on Incognito Market paid a 5% commission on the value of the sold goods. These funds were allocated for employee salaries and server costs. According to the Department of Justice, Lin himself earned over $6 million in profits.

For transactions, Incognito Market utilized its own banking system, Incognito Bank, through which users could deposit cryptocurrency. When purchasing illegal goods, cryptocurrency was transferred from the buyer’s “bank account” to the seller’s account, minus the 5% commission. Customers were promised anonymity.

Lin managed to expand the customer base of Incognito Market to over 400,000 individuals, as stated in the case materials. Notably, while operating the darknet platform, Lin conducted a four-day training session for law enforcement in Saint Lucia on cybercrime and cryptocurrencies.

In March 2024, Lin shut down the platform, allegedly embezzling at least $1 million from clients with deposits in Incognito Bank, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. American officials reported that Lin attempted to extort money from buyers and sellers by threatening to disclose their transaction histories and cryptocurrency addresses.

Last year, one of the largest darknet trading platforms, Abacus Market, unexpectedly shut down, with its operators disappearing along with user digital assets totaling over $12 million. Abacus Market accounted for approximately 70% of the darknet trading market in North America and Western Europe.