Crypto darknet drug kingpin Rui-Siang Lin gets 30 years

• 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.

Rui-Siang Lin, the alleged operator of the dark web narcotics marketplace “Incognito Market,” was sentenced to 30 years in U.S. federal prison on Tuesday, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, bringing to a close one of the largest online drug market prosecutions since Silk Road.

Lin, a 24-year-old Taiwanese national who used the online alias “Pharaoh,” pleaded guilty in December 2024 to narcotics conspiracy, money laundering and conspiring to sell adulterated and misbranded medication. Prosecutors said the platform processed more than $105 million in illegal drug sales between October 2020 and March 2024, facilitating more than 640,000 transactions and serving hundreds of thousands of buyers worldwide

“Rui-Siang Lin was one of the world’s most prolific drug traffickers, using the internet to sell more than $105 million of illegal drugs throughout this country and across the globe,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton in a statement. “While Lin made millions, his offenses had devastating consequences. He is responsible for at least one tragic death, and he exacerbated the opioid crisis and caused misery for more than 470,000 narcotics users and their families."

Investigators ultimately traced the operation not only through blockchain analysis and undercover purchases but also through operational security failures.

According to the initial SDNY criminal complaint, investigators were able to trace the domain for the marketplace to Lin as he used his real name along with a phone number and address in the registration process.

Taiwanese media say Lin studied at National Taiwan University before completing Taiwan’s civilian “alternative service,” a mandatory national service track outside the military, in St. Lucia, where he worked in a technical assistance role and at times taught local police about cybercrime and cryptocurrency.