US investigators have arrested a 23-year-old Taiwanese resident for allegedly operating a major dark web marketplace that sold over $100 million in illegal drugs to buyers across the globe.
Ruisiang Lin allegedly operated “Incognito Market” under the alias “Pharoah," the Justice Department announced today. US authorities nabbed Lin on Saturday while he was at New York's John F. Kennedy airport.
Since 2020, Incognito Market operated as an e-commerce platform on the dark web for vendors to anonymously sell illegal drugs, including fentanyl, cocaine, ketamine, and heroin. Buyers could search through thousands of listings on the site.
(Credit: DOJ)Allegedly, Lin charged a 5% fee for every sale that vendors made through the site, allowing him to generate millions, which went toward paying his employees and buying server space. In addition, he operated a banking service to help vendors and customers exchange cryptocurrency funds while keeping their identities private.
(Credit: DOJ)Incognito Market operated until March when the site launched an “exit scam,” preventing users from withdrawing their funds from the platform. The market also tried to extort users, demanding they pay a fee or risk having Incognito Market publish their chat records and crypto transactions.
The criminal complaint against Lin notes that the FBI identified his involvement by looking at a cryptocurrency wallet used by Incognito Market. The wallet was used to buy services from online domain registrar Namecheap via a user account registered to Lin, along with a phone number in Taiwan.
A cryptocurrency account tied to the marketplace was also registered to Lin and his Taiwanese driver's license as proof of identity. If convicted of all charges, Lin faces life in prison.
(Credit: DOJ)