The owner and operator of Incognito Market, a dark web-based drug marketplace, was arrested at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York on May 18. According to law enforcement officials, more than $100 million worth of drugs were sold through the marketplace, including significant amounts of methamphetamine, cocaine, amphetamine, and ecstasy.
The market began operating in October 2020 and operated until March 2024, when law enforcement shut it down. Rui-Siang Lin, 23, also known by the aliases Pharaoh and Faro, allegedly managed all operations on the market. According to the Ministry of Justice, Lin had full control over more than a thousand sellers and more than 200,000 customers who bought drugs on the Incognito Market.
The platform allowed customers to select drugs and pay for them using cryptocurrency. Law enforcement officers executed search warrants in July 2022 and August 2023, gaining access to the marketplace's servers containing transaction data and user accounts.
The investigation revealed over 1,312 seller accounts, 255,519 customer accounts, and 224,791 transactions. The total marketplace revenue was more than $83 million, of which Lin received more than $4 million in commissions.
In March 2024, Lin shut down the marketplace, refusing to refund buyers and sellers and threatening to publish users' transaction history if they did not pay an additional fee. If found guilty, Lin faces life in prison for participating in a criminal enterprise, conspiracy to sell drugs, money laundering, and selling counterfeit drugs.
The Incognito drug market has had a significant impact on the dark web community. Due to its large user base and wide range of drugs, it has become one of the most popular platforms for illegal transactions. This attracted the attention of buyers, sellers, and law enforcement agencies, which became more active in the fight against illegal markets on the dark web. The closure of the Incognito Market was a significant blow to the illegal online economy, showing that even the most influential and protected markets cannot escape justice.
Comments 0