Incognito Market founder Rui-Siang Lin sentenced to 30 years in crypto darknet drug marketplace case

U.S. prosecutors say the Taiwanese operator of the $105 Million Incognito Market used cryptocurrency and anonymity tools before investigators tied him to the platform through domain records and digital traces. What to know : Rui-Siang Lin, a 24-year-old Taiwanese national who operated the dark web narcotics marketplace Incognito Market under the alias "Pharaoh," was sentenced to 30 years in U.S. federal prison. Prosecutors said Incognito Market processed more than $105 million in illegal drug sales between October 2020 and March 2024, facilitating over 640,000 transactions for hundreds of thousands of buyers worldwide. U.S. authorities linked the marketplace to Lin through blockchain analysis, undercover purchases and domain registration records that included his real name, phone number and address, and they say his operation contributed to at least one death and worsened the opioid crisis.