Binance revealed that it has played a central role in dismantling Incognito Market, a notorious darknet drug marketplace that facilitated more than $100 million in illegal narcotics sales, according to US and Taiwanese law enforcement agencies.
The takedown was part of a broader international investigation, codenamed Operation RapTor, which targeted the darknet platform’s operators and financial infrastructure.
Incognito Market Shut Down
According to Binance’s official press release, Incognito Market enabled the sale of over 1,000 types of illicit drugs, including heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine, and relied heavily on cryptocurrencies to process transactions while obscuring users’ identities.
Despite the platform’s use of encryption, privacy tools, and a custom-built internal payment system, investigators working with Binance’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) were able to trace transactions on the blockchain to individuals connected to the marketplace. Binance’s FIU assisted in mapping the flow of illicit funds and identified several crypto wallets tied to the platform’s operations.
The investigation ultimately led to a Taiwanese national, identified by the surname Lin and known by the alias “Pharaoh,” who supervised the operation and reportedly earned millions in profits. Lin was arrested and later pleaded guilty in a US federal court to charges including narcotics conspiracy, money laundering, and the distribution of misbranded drugs.
Meanwhile, Binance’s FIU also froze over $3.5 million in related crypto assets, which law enforcement said helped cripple the marketplace’s financial operations.
Binance has assisted in similar investigations before, including efforts with Europol to dismantle a child exploitation platform by tracking internal payment systems and identifying users. In an official statement, Nils Andersen-Röed, Global Head of Binance’s Financial Intelligence Unit, stated,
“This case is a powerful reminder that blockchain offers no safe haven for criminal activity. Even with sophisticated privacy tools, every crypto transaction leaves a digital trail, which is increasingly vital in today’s law enforcement investigations. Cross-border collaboration and public-private partnerships are no longer optional – they are essential.”
T3 FCU Targets Crypto Crime
Besides Binance, another major player in the digital asset space has reported similar enforcement success.
The T3 Financial Crime Unit (T3 FCU), a joint initiative by Tether, Tron, and TRM Labs, announced in the March update that it has frozen over $100 million in illicit crypto assets since its launch in August 2024.
Working with global law enforcement, the unit has targeted crimes including money laundering, fraud, and terrorism financing. T3 FCU has analyzed millions of transactions globally and monitored over $3 billion in USDT activity to disrupt financial crime in the crypto industry.
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