A ‘stealth’ worker has been jailed for 30 years for running a drug market on the dark web

On Tuesday, Roy Siang Lin was sentenced to 30 years in prison for running “Undercover Market,” a dark web platform that prosecutors say “sold more than $105 million worth of drugs — including more than 1,000 kilograms of cocaine, more than 1,000 kilograms of methamphetamine, hundreds of kilograms of other drugs, and more than 4 kilograms of alleged oxycodone.” 2020 and 2024. Jay Clayton, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, The verdict was announced On Tuesday, he described Lin as “one of the most prolific drug dealers in the world,” taking a five percent cut on cryptocurrency transactions as a “bank account” while keeping buyers and sellers anonymous to each other.

By comparison, Ross “Dread Pirate Roberts” Ulbricht, who ran Silk Road The dark web marketplace, initially received a life sentence after being shut down in 2013, and He was pardoned by President Trump Early last year. Thomas White created Silk Road 2.0 a year after the first version was shut down, and it was finally done He was sentenced to five years In prison in the United Kingdom.

Lin, who also used the name “Pharaoh” online, He pleaded guilty in December 2024 To “drug conspiracy, money laundering, and conspiracy to sell counterfeit and counterfeit medicines.” As he pointed out CoinDeskIn the initial criminal complaint, an FBI investigator said they were able to identify Lin as the operator because he used his real name and address while registering the domain. Before ceasing operations in 2024, it appears to have stolen from its users:

“In March 2024, Lin shut down Incognito by stealing at least $1 million that its users had deposited at Incognito Bank. Additionally, Lin attempted to blackmail his co-conspirators. LIN demanded that Incognito buyers and sellers pay him, or post their user history and cryptocurrency addresses online. In a post on the Incognito website, LIN wrote, ‘Yes, this is blackmail!!!’, as described below.”