A major darknet marketplace case ends with one of the longest sentences ever imposed for online narcotics trafficking.
A U.S. court sentenced Rui-Siang Lin, a 24-year-old Taiwanese national, to 30 years in prison for running Incognito Market, one of the world’s largest online drug marketplaces.
Lin operated the platform between October 2020 and March 2024. During that period, Incognito Market sold more than $105 million worth of illegal narcotics to customers across the globe. Investigators confirmed that Lin controlled all operations and held final decision-making authority.
In December, Lin pleaded guilty to money laundering, conspiracy to distribute narcotics, and conspiracy to sell adulterated and misbranded medication.
Scale of the Criminal Network
Court filings show that Incognito Market facilitated the sale of over one ton of drugs. These included:
- 295 kg of methamphetamine
- 364 kg of cocaine
- 112 kg of amphetamine
- 92 kg of MDMA
Some substances contained fentanyl, which significantly increased the risk of fatal overdoses.
The platform hosted 1,800+ vendors, managed over 400,000 customer accounts, and processed more than 640,000 transactions. Customers paid using cryptocurrency through a built-in system known as Incognito Bank.
Cryptocurrency, Commissions, and Control
Incognito Market generated more than $83.6 million in revenue. Lin personally earned over $4.1 million by taking a 5% commission on every transaction.
Law enforcement later discovered that Lin used three dedicated servers. One stored transaction data, another mitigated DDoS attacks, and the third processed cryptocurrency payments. Authorities obtained search warrants for these servers in 2022 and 2023, which proved critical to the investigation.
Shutdown, Extortion, and Arrest
In March 2024, Lin abruptly shut down the marketplace. He then attempted to extort vendors and customers by threatening to release transaction histories unless they paid additional fees.
U.S. authorities arrested Lin in May 2024. During sentencing, Judge Colleen McMahon described the case as the most serious drug crime she had encountered in nearly three decades. She characterized Incognito Market as a business that turned Lin into a global drug kingpin.
Legal Outcome and Broader Impact
In addition to prison time, the court ordered Lin to:
- Serve five years of supervised release
- Forfeit $105,045,109.67 in criminal proceeds
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton stated that Lin’s actions worsened the opioid crisis and caused widespread harm. Authorities linked the operation to at least one confirmed death and severe social impact affecting hundreds of thousands of users.
This case follows a growing pattern of darknet marketplace takedowns. Recent prosecutions involving Empire Market and other platforms show that law enforcement continues to close the gap between online anonymity, cryptocurrency abuse, and real-world accountability.