23-year-old Chinese drug lord was arrested and faces life imprisonment | 2024-06-21 20:34:43 (Visits: 38 Times) |  | | Time: 2024-5-20 15:17| Source: Chinese American Network, reprinted by Duoxian News
Summary: Chinese American Network reported that the Department of Justice filed charges against a young Chinese drug lord on Monday for operating a large-scale dark web drug market that sold more than 100 million yuan worth of illegal drugs around the world. The Department of Justice said that 23-year-old Rui-Siang Lin is from Taiwan and is the "Incognito Market" on the dark web.
The U.S. Chinese website reported that the Department of Justice filed charges against a young Chinese drug lord on Monday for allegedly operating a large-scale dark web drug market that sold more than $100 million worth of illegal drugs around the world. The Justice Department said that 23-year-old Rui-Siang Lin, from Taiwan, was the owner and operator of the "Incognito Market" on the dark web. He was arrested at New York's Kennedy Airport last Saturday and will be heard later on Monday. "Drug dealers who think they can conduct illegal activities on the dark web are wrong," Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement. "As alleged, Rui-Siang Lin is the designer of 'Incognito,' a case of trafficking deadly drugs worth $100 million on the dark web to the United States and around the world. The long arm of the law extends to the dark web, and we will bring to justice those who try to hide their crimes there." According to the complaint and indictment, "Incognito Market" is an online drug market that exists on the dark web. It was established in October 2020 and closed in March of this year. The platform once sold drugs worth more than 100 million yuan, including hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine. Globally, anyone with internet access can access the market using the Tor web browser on the "dark web." Prosecutors said Lin Ruixiang operated the invisible market online under the pseudonyms "Pharaoh" or "Faro." As a leader, he was responsible for all operations of the market, including employees, suppliers and customers, and had the final decision-making power over all aspects of this drug business. Prosecutors pointed out that the purpose of the invisible market is to promote seamless drug transactions on the Internet and around the world, and incorporates many functions of legitimate e-commerce websites, such as branding, advertising and customer service. When users visit the website, the first thing they see is a startup page and a graphical interface. After logging in with a unique username and password, users can see thousands of lists of drugs of their choice and choose from them. It is reported that the illegal drugs and prescription drugs sold in the invisible market include heroin, cocaine, psychedelics, ecstasy, oxycodone, methamphetamine, ketamine and alprazolam. Prosecutors pointed out that some mislabeled prescription drugs are also sold on the platform. For example, in November 2023, an undercover law enforcement officer received several pills purportedly purchased from the stealth market, and testing of the pills showed that they were actually fentanyl. Prosecutors said that the stealth market is a sales platform similar to Amazon and Ebay, where each item is sold by a specific seller. To become a supplier, sellers must register on the website and pay an entry fee, usually 5% of the selling price of each drug. Prosecutors said that the platform even has its own "bank" to keep buyers and sellers anonymous from each other. Among them, buyers can deposit cryptocurrency into their own "bank accounts", and after the drug transaction is completed, the cryptocurrency in their "bank accounts" is transferred to the seller's "bank account", minus a 5% fee charged by the platform. If convicted, Lin Ruixiang will face a mandatory minimum life sentence for engaging in a continuous criminal enterprise; drug conspiracy is punishable by life in prison; money laundering is punishable by up to 20 years in prison; and conspiracy to sell adulterated and counterfeit drugs is punishable by a maximum of five years in prison. The federal district court judge will make a sentence after considering the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. (Editor: Chen Xiaomo) |
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