Alleged Owner of Darknet Narcotics Bazaar ‘Incognito Market’ Arrested in New York

U.S.
authorities
have
arrested
and
charged
a
Taiwanese
national
with
operating
darknet
drug
bazaar
Incognito
Market,
which
he
allegedly
used
to
facilitate
over
$100
million
in
crypto-denominated
sales
of
illegal
narcotics
including
fentanyl.

Prosecutors
say
Rui-Siang
Lin,
23,
operated
Incognito
Market
under
the
pseudonym
“Pharoah”
and
oversaw
all
of
its
operations,
including
employees,
vendors
and
customers,
and
had
“ultimate
decision-making
authority
over
every
aspect
of
the
multimillion-dollar
operation”
from
its
formation
in
October
2020
to
its
shutdown
in
March
this
year.

“The
dedicated
prosecutors
from
the
Southern
District
of
New
York
and
our
law
enforcement
partners
will
pursue
criminal
actors
regardless
of
whether
they
operate
on
street
corners
or
in
the
dark
corners
of
the
internet,”
said
U.S.
Attorney
Damian
Williams
in

a
Monday
statement.
“The
so-called
‘dark
web’
is
not
a
safe
haven
for
those
who
seek
to
break
the
law.”

Lin
was
arrested
at
New
York’s
John
F.
Kennedy
Airport
on
Saturday
and
will
be
presented
in
front
of
a
Southern
District
of
New
York
(SDNY)
magistrate
judge
today.
He
faces
one
count
of
engaging
in
a
continuing
criminal
enterprise,
one
count
of
narcotics
conspiracy,
one
count
of
money
laundering,
and
one
count
of
conspiracy
to
sell
adulterated
and
misbranded
medication.

The
first
charge
–
sometimes
called
the
“kingpin
statute”
–
carries
a
mandatory
minimum
sentence
of
life
in
prison.
Ross
Ulbricht,
the
creator
and
operator
of
the
now-shuttered
Silk
Road
darknet
drug
marketplace,
was
found
guilty
of
the
same
crime
and
sentenced
to
life
in
prison.
The
narcotics
conspiracy
charge
carries
a
mandatory
minimum
sentence
of
10
years
and
a
maximum
potential
sentence
of
life
in
prison.
The
other
two
charges
carry
a
combined
maximum
of
25
years
in
prison.

Lin
allegedly
made
millions
from
operating
Incognito
Market,
which
took
a
5%
cut
of
every
sale.
The
darknet
market
had
its
own
“bank,”
prosecutors
said,
which
gave
users
an
additional
layer
of
anonymity
by
allowing
them
to
deposit
cryptocurrency
into
their
own
accounts,
which
the
site
then
automatically
transferred
from
buyers
to
sellers,
minus
the
fee.

According
to
the

complaint,
Lin
created
and
operated
Incognito
Market
while
an
undergraduate
student
at
the
prestigious
National
Taiwan
University.

In
March,
Incognito
Market
shut
down
after

reportedly
pulling
an
exit
scam
that
left
users
unable
to
withdraw
their
funds.
Administrators
of
the
site
then

reportedly
began
extorting
vendors,
ordering
them
to
pay
a
fee
ranging
from
$100
to
$20,000,
depending
on
their
size,
or
else
risk
having
their
customers’
data
leaked.

Lin,
a
self-described
crypto
developer
and
fan
of
privacy
coin
Monero,
said
on
X
that
he

facilitated
a
four-day
workshop
on
cyber
crime
and
cryptocurrency
for
30
police
officers
at
the
Saint
Lucia
Police
Academy
in
early
April.