An FBI informant handled 95% of transactions on Incognito Market, one of the dark web’s largest drug bazaars, for nearly two years while fentanyl-laced pills killed buyers across America. Court filings revealed the unnamed confidential source essentially co-ran the $100 million operation from 2022 to 2024, approving vendor sales, resolving disputes, and overseeing cryptocurrency transactions—even after users reported near-fatal overdoses from the same suppliers.
The Kingpin Gets 30 Years
Taiwan’s Rui-Siang Lin received one of the longest dark web sentences in federal court history.
Taiwanese national Rui-Siang Lin, operating under the alias “Pharoah,” built Incognito Market into a digital drug empire spanning October 2020 to March 2024. Nearly 1,800 vendors sold cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA, and opioids to hundreds of thousands of global buyers through the Tor-encrypted platform.
Judge Colleen McMahon sentenced Lin to 30 years in federal prison plus $105 million in forfeiture this October, calling him a “drug kingpin” despite his defense team’s explosive revelations about FBI involvement.
A Father’s Devastating Testimony
Reed Churchill’s fentanyl death exposed the human cost of prolonged government infiltration.
Arkansas doctor David Churchill stood in Manhattan federal court describing his son Reed’s September 2022 death from fentanyl-laced oxycodone pills purchased through Incognito Market. The 22-year-old bought the fatal drugs from vendor RedLightLabs, whose operators Michael Ta and Raj Srinivasan later pleaded guilty to five overdose deaths.
Churchill urged Lin to remember his son’s face in prison, though the real gut punch came later: the FBI’s own asset was moderating the platform when Reed died.
When Law Enforcement Becomes the Accomplice
Defense attorneys argued the FBI informant operated as Lin’s full partner, not subordinate.
The government’s confidential source didn’t just infiltrate Incognito—they practically ran it. Defense filings show the informant approved vendor applications, managed user complaints, and facilitated transactions while allegedly ignoring red flags about fentanyl contamination.
In November 2023, users reported near-fatal overdoses and hospitalizations from a vendor who continued processing over 1,000 orders. The asset even debated Lin about maintaining fentanyl bans, arguing for “free markets” before Lin’s rigged user poll upheld the prohibition.
Defense attorney Noam Biale called it a partnership: “The government had the ability to mitigate the harm—and didn’t do it.” Judge McMahon expressed skepticism about the operation’s duration, questioning why the FBI let it continue so long after infiltration. Like watching Netflix for “just one more episode” while Rome burns, the government’s investigation priorities seemed wildly misaligned with preventing deaths.
The prosecution maintained their informant was merely following Lin’s orders—necessary for identifying “Pharaoh” through blockchain analysis and server seizures. Lin’s 30-year sentence stands, but his appeal and lingering questions about informant oversight suggest this dark web horror story isn’t finished.
