The administrator received a long prison sentence for organizing a drug business under the guise of an online store.
A harsh sentence has been handed down in the US for a major darknet drug marketplace that operated for several years under the guise of a regular online store. Its creator and administrator received a 30-year prison sentence for organizing illegal trade and related crimes.
The US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced the sentencing of Rui-Xiang Lin, who operated the Incognito Market platform under the pseudonym "Pharaoh." The court found him guilty of conspiracy to distribute narcotics, money laundering , and selling counterfeit drugs. Rui-Xiang Linwas arrested in May 2024 , and in December he pleaded guilty. The court now sentenced him to 30 years in prison.
According to investigators, Incognito Market operated from October 2020 to March 2024 and was accessible through the darknet using the Tor browser . The platform mimicked traditional online stores, featuring product displays, a search function, reviews, and customer support. Users registered with a username and password, funded their internal accounts with cryptocurrency, and ordered the desired substances from sellers.
Over the course of its operation, the site sold drugs worth over $105 million. This included more than a ton of cocaine, a similar amount of methamphetamine, hundreds of kilograms of other substances, and thousands of pills purported to be prescription medications. Tests revealed that some of these pills contained fentanyl instead of the oxycodone they claimed . Investigators link the site to at least one fatal overdose in Arkansas.
The platform had its own payment system with an internal "bank." Buyers and sellers conducted transactions within the service, remaining anonymous to each other. The administration retained a 5% commission on each transaction. As a result, the court found, Lin earned over $6 million in profits. In total, over 400,000 buyer accounts were opened on the site, and over 1,800 sellers worked there. At least 640,000 transactions were conducted.
The investigation also established that in 2024, Lin shut down the platform, having embezzled at least $1 million in user funds. He then attempted to blackmail sellers and buyers, demanding they transfer money to him under threat of publishing their personal information and cryptocurrency addresses.
When sentencing, the judge described the project as a large-scale drug operation and the most serious drug case she had ever handled. In addition to the prison term, Lin was sentenced to five years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit more than $105 million.
A harsh sentence has been handed down in the US for a major darknet drug marketplace that operated for several years under the guise of a regular online store. Its creator and administrator received a 30-year prison sentence for organizing illegal trade and related crimes.
The US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced the sentencing of Rui-Xiang Lin, who operated the Incognito Market platform under the pseudonym "Pharaoh." The court found him guilty of conspiracy to distribute narcotics, money laundering , and selling counterfeit drugs. Rui-Xiang Linwas arrested in May 2024 , and in December he pleaded guilty. The court now sentenced him to 30 years in prison.
According to investigators, Incognito Market operated from October 2020 to March 2024 and was accessible through the darknet using the Tor browser . The platform mimicked traditional online stores, featuring product displays, a search function, reviews, and customer support. Users registered with a username and password, funded their internal accounts with cryptocurrency, and ordered the desired substances from sellers.
Over the course of its operation, the site sold drugs worth over $105 million. This included more than a ton of cocaine, a similar amount of methamphetamine, hundreds of kilograms of other substances, and thousands of pills purported to be prescription medications. Tests revealed that some of these pills contained fentanyl instead of the oxycodone they claimed . Investigators link the site to at least one fatal overdose in Arkansas.
The platform had its own payment system with an internal "bank." Buyers and sellers conducted transactions within the service, remaining anonymous to each other. The administration retained a 5% commission on each transaction. As a result, the court found, Lin earned over $6 million in profits. In total, over 400,000 buyer accounts were opened on the site, and over 1,800 sellers worked there. At least 640,000 transactions were conducted.
The investigation also established that in 2024, Lin shut down the platform, having embezzled at least $1 million in user funds. He then attempted to blackmail sellers and buyers, demanding they transfer money to him under threat of publishing their personal information and cryptocurrency addresses.
When sentencing, the judge described the project as a large-scale drug operation and the most serious drug case she had ever handled. In addition to the prison term, Lin was sentenced to five years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit more than $105 million.
