TechFlow News, February 4: According to CoinDesk, Rui-Siang Lin, operator of the dark web drug marketplace Incognito Market, was sentenced to 30 years in federal court in the United States. The 24-year-old Taiwanese national, who used the online alias “Pharaoh,” pleaded guilty in December 2024 to charges including drug conspiracy, money laundering, and distribution of adulterated drugs.
Prosecutors stated that Incognito Market facilitated over $105 million in illegal drug transactions between October 2020 and March 2024, enabling more than 640,000 transactions and serving hundreds of thousands of buyers worldwide. U.S. authorities successfully traced Lin through blockchain analysis, undercover purchases, and domain registration records—some of which contained his real name, phone number, and address.
Prosecutor Jay Clayton stated that Lin’s criminal conduct resulted in at least one death and exacerbated the opioid crisis, causing suffering for over 470,000 drug users and their families.
