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According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the operator of the darknet marketplace Incognito was apprehended at John F. Kennedy Airport on May 18. Law enforcement officials claim Rui-Siang Lin allegedly constructed the DNM and facilitated the sale of over $100 million worth of illegal drugs through the platform.
The DOJ has detained the supposed operator of Incognito Market, a DNM formerly accessible on the deep web. Initially, it was believed that Incognito’s administrators had exited the market by absconding with the funds and closing operations. Furthermore, in March, reports emerged that Incognito’s administrator was blackmailing users who purportedly leaked their data to the DNM’s operators. Federal authorities in the U.S. apprehended the alleged chief architect behind Incognito on May 18 in New York.
“As alleged in the complaint and the indictment, Incognito Market was an online narcotics bazaar that existed on the dark web,” the DOJ’s press release details. “Incognito Market formed in October 2020. Since that time, and through its closing in March, Incognito Market sold more than $100 million of narcotics — including hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamines.”
The DOJ’s announcement touched upon on the Incognito admin’s alleged extortion attempts. “The defendant’s greed and disregard for others was further demonstrated by his alleged extortion attempt during the platform’s final days,” stated Ivan J. Arvelo, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York.
Lin reportedly utilized the anonymous online identity “Pharoah” and managed Incognito’s unique banking system. To process financial transactions, this system permitted users to deposit cryptocurrency into personal deposit vaults dubbed “bank accounts” on the site. Once a drug transaction was finalized, the DOJ alleges that cryptocurrency from the buyer’s so-called “bank account” was transferred to the seller’s “bank account,” with Incognito collecting a 5% fee.
If convicted, Lin faces a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison for operating a continuing criminal enterprise; a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for narcotics conspiracy; up to 20 years in prison for money laundering; and a maximum of five years in prison for conspiracy to sell adulterated and misbranded medication.
