Taiwanese national Rui-Siang Lin, 23, is accused of facilitating $100 million in sales paid through crypto of illegal narcotics, including fentanyl, through the online marketplace.

U.S. authorities have arrested and charged a Taiwanese national with operating the darknet drug bazaar Incognito Market, which he allegedly used to facilitate over $100 million in crypto-denominated sales of illegal narcotics, including fentanyl.

Prosecutors allege Rui-Siang Lin, 23, operated Incognito Market under the pseudonym “Pharoah” and managed all its operations, including employees, vendors, and customers, holding “ultimate decision-making authority over every aspect of the multimillion-dollar operation” from its inception in October 2020 until its shutdown in March this year.

“The dedicated prosecutors from the Southern District of New York and our law enforcement partners will pursue criminal actors regardless of whether they operate on street corners or in the dark corners of the internet,” stated U.S. Attorney Damian Williams on Monday. “The so-called ‘dark web’ is not a safe haven for those who seek to break the law.”

Lin was apprehended at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport on Saturday and is scheduled to appear before a Southern District of New York (SDNY) magistrate judge today. He faces multiple charges, including one count of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, one count of narcotics conspiracy, one count of money laundering, and one count of conspiracy to sell adulterated and misbranded medication.

The first charge, sometimes referred to as the “kingpin statute,” carries a mandatory minimum sentence of life imprisonment. Ross Ulbricht, the creator and operator of the now-defunct Silk Road darknet drug marketplace, was convicted of the same crime and sentenced to life in prison. The narcotics conspiracy charge has a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum potential sentence of life in prison. The remaining two charges collectively carry a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.

Lin allegedly amassed millions from running Incognito Market, which took a 5% commission on every sale. The darknet market had its own “bank,” according to prosecutors, which provided users with an additional layer of anonymity by allowing them to deposit cryptocurrency into their accounts. The site would then automatically transfer the funds from buyers to sellers, minus the commission.

The complaint states that Lin created and managed Incognito Market while an undergraduate student at the prestigious National Taiwan University.

In March, Incognito Market shut down after reportedly orchestrating an exit scam that left users unable to withdraw their funds. Administrators of the site then allegedly began extorting vendors, demanding fees ranging from $100 to $20,000, depending on their size, or risk having their customers’ data exposed.

Lin, a self-proclaimed crypto developer and enthusiast of the privacy coin Monero, mentioned on X that he conducted a four-day workshop on cybercrime and cryptocurrency for 30 police officers at the Saint Lucia Police Academy in early April.