Source: AFP
A 23-year-old Taiwanese man has been arrested on charges of selling tens of millions of dollars worth of illegal drugs online through a dark web site known as “Incognito Market”.
Rui-Xiang Lin, also known as “Pharaoh,” was arrested at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York on Saturday and was due to appear in court on Monday, the Justice Department said.
“It is alleged that Rui-Siang Lin was the architect of Incognito, a $100 million dark web scheme to traffic deadly drugs in the United States and around the world,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
Incognito Market, which was shut down in March, was an online dark web marketplace that allowed users to buy and sell illegal drugs anonymously, according to the Justice Department.
Hundreds of kilograms (pounds) of cocaine, methamphetamines and other drugs have been sold on the anonymous market since its launch in October 2020, it said.
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“Under the promise of anonymity, Lynn’s purported operation offered to purchase lethal drugs and fraudulent prescription drugs on a global scale,” said James Smith, assistant director at the FBI’s New York office.
Incognito Market users were able to search thousands of listings for illegal drugs including heroin, cocaine, LSD, MDMA, oxycodone, methamphetamines, ketamine and alprazolam.
Sellers paid five percent of the purchase price of each “Incognito Market” sale, providing Lin with millions of dollars in profits, the Justice Department said.
Lynn faces up to life in prison if convicted of the drug conspiracy.
Source: AFP