According to the Manhattan Prosecutor's Office, 23-year-old Rui-Xiang Lin was arrested on May 18 at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport, and on May 20 he appeared in federal court. James Smith, Assistant director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), said that Pharoah operated this darknet for almost four years before law enforcement officers revealed his identity.
Incognito Market was an electronic platform accessed via an anonymous Tor browser. This allowed users to buy and sell various narcotic drugs for bitcoins, including cocaine, LSD and amphetamines. Lin was charged with organizing a criminal business, conspiracy to sell drugs and money laundering. He faces life in prison.
The FBI tracked at least four transactions in which bitcoins received from Incognito Market were sent from Lin's address to the service for exchange for the anonymous cryptocurrency XMR. At the request of law enforcement agencies, this service provided the FBI with information about Lin's driver's license, which was used to open the account, as well as his email address and phone number. According to this information, the FBI accessed his account at NameCheap, a company that manages domains and accepts payments in BTC — Lin bought a domain for a website promoting Incognito Market.
It should be noted that Incognito Market closed in March 2024, after users of the darknet platform suspected it in an exit scam. Pharoah himself called it temporary difficulties after the changes to the withdrawal systems.