A federal judge has sentenced Rui-Siang Lin, alias “Pharaoh”, and the Taiwanese operator of the dark web drug marketplace Incognito Market, to 30 years in prison for running a sprawling online narcotics distribution scheme that federal prosecutors say involved more than $105 million in cryptocurrency-based drug sales.
Sentencing of a Dark Web Operator
U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon imposed a 30-year prison term on Lin, 24, after he pleaded guilty in December 2024 to narcotics conspiracy, money laundering, and conspiracy to sell adulterated and misbranded medication, according to court records and federal statements.
Federal prosecutors said Lin’s operation facilitated hundreds of thousands of illegal drug transactions around the world and that his leadership of Incognito Market made him one of the most prolific dark web drug traffickers of his generation.
How the Market Operated
Incognito Market was an online narcotics marketplace accessible through the Tor anonymizing network, where buyers and sellers traded controlled substances using cryptocurrency, authorities said.
The Block reported that the platform supported more than 640,000 individual transactions and hosted over 400,000 buyer accounts, selling a variety of drugs including cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, MDMA, and misbranded prescription pills that in some cases contained fentanyl.
Prosecutors said Lin and other administrators used a proprietary internal payment system dubbed the “Incognito Bank” to move cryptocurrency between buyers and sellers while obscuring identities, earning him commissions on transactions that funded the marketplace’s operation.
Market Size and Impact
A Coin Desk article revealed that the federal filings and media reporting indicate that the market generated more than $105 million in sales between October 2020 and March 2024, with drug volumes surpassing one ton of narcotics during its operation before closure.
U.S. prosecutors also linked the platform to at least one fatal overdose tied to drugs purchased on the site, and said Incognito exacerbated the opioid crisis by providing broad access to potent substances.
Exit Scam and Extortion Attempts
Incognito Market abruptly shut down in March 2024, shortly before Lin’s arrest. At that time, investigators say Lin stole at least $1 million in user funds from the marketplace’s internal bank system and attempted to extort buyers and vendors by threatening to publish their transaction histories and wallet information unless they paid him additional money.
Those actions were included in the evidence presented at sentencing and solidified the government’s portrayal of Lin as an unrepentant criminal who exploited his own customer base.
Official Statements and Enforcement Context
In announcing the sentence, U.S. prosecutors described Lin as “one of the world’s most prolific drug traffickers” and emphasized that the sentence reflected the serious harms caused by large-scale online drug distribution.
The outcome also highlights the Justice Department’s continued efforts to pursue darknet marketplace operators who use anonymity technologies and cryptocurrencies to evade law enforcement — a priority the department has emphasized in cases following earlier takedowns such as Silk Road and its successors.
After Prison
In addition to his prison term, Lin was ordered to serve five years of supervised release and must forfeit more than $105 million in proceeds linked to the illegal narcotics operation, federal court records show.
Prosecutors said the sentence reinforces that even sophisticated online criminals hiding behind encryption and cryptocurrency face significant legal consequences when caught.
