Key Points
- Incognito Market founder received a 30-year U.S. prison sentence for large-scale illicit drug distribution.
- Authorities highlight continued enforcement against crypto-facilitated financial and drug crimes.
A U.S. federal judge sentenced Rui-Siang Lin, founder of Incognito Market, to 30 years in prison for operating a darknet marketplace.
The platform enabled over $105 million in illegal narcotics transactions, accounting for more than a ton of drugs sold over four years.
$105 Million in Illicit Drug Transactions
According to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York on Feb. 3, Lin used crypto payments and an internal system called “Incognito Bank.”
These mechanisms allegedly allowed buyers and sellers to conduct anonymous transactions while facilitating drug distribution.
Prosecutors stated that between October 2020 and March 2024, the marketplace handled approximately $105 million in narcotics sales.
In December 2024, Lin pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute narcotics, money laundering, and selling adulterated medication.
U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon described the scale of the operation as exceptionally serious, mandating forfeiture of $105,045,109 and five years of supervised release after imprisonment.
Law Enforcement Actions Against Crypto-Linked Crime
The case illustrates broader enforcement actions targeting illegal activity involving crypto-related infrastructure.
In November 2025, U.S. federal prosecutors charged the founder of a Chicago-based cryptocurrency company with conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Firas Isa and his firm, Virtual Assets LLC, were accused of generating at least $10 million through wire fraud and drug trafficking between 2018 and 2025.
Separately, in July 2025, U.S. authorities seized over $10 million in cryptocurrency linked to the Sinaloa cartel during a joint DEA and FBI operation in Miami.
