Global Cooperation Leads to the Crackdown on Major Dark Web Drug Market
The world’s largest virtual asset trading platform, Binance, revealed today that it has collaborated with law enforcement agencies in the United States and Taiwan to assist in the dismantling of the major dark web drug market, “Incognito Market.” This website is one of the largest drug markets globally, selling drugs worth over $100 million (approximately NT$3 billion) during its operation. Binance’s cooperation was crucial in this international law enforcement operation, aiding in successfully disrupting the criminal network and freezing illicit funds worth over $3.5 million (approximately NT$100 million).
The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced the results of the international joint operation codenamed “Operation RapTor,” targeting dark web activities and drug trafficking, setting a record for the largest crackdown in history. The “Incognito Market” was listed as one of the significant achievements of this operation.
In this case, Binance’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) provided crucial intelligence to law enforcement agencies in Taiwan and the U.S., playing a key role in assisting authorities in identifying suspects and freezing virtual assets worth approximately $3.5 million, contributing to dismantling this vast global drug network.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice and public information, the website allowed users to search for and purchase over a thousand types of drugs, including heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine, anonymously. To facilitate transactions, the platform even had its own “bank” system, using virtual assets as the primary medium of exchange.
Despite the operators’ efforts to evade detection with multiple layers of firewalls, thorough investigation by law enforcement officers led to the identification of the relationship between the platform’s “bank” system’s virtual asset wallets and the website’s administrator wallet addresses. Supported by ample evidence, the actual mastermind behind the website was confirmed to be a suspect surnamed Lin from Taiwan, who used the alias “Pharaoh” in everyday life, overseeing all operational matters on the platform. The suspect was apprehended last year and has pleaded guilty to U.S. law enforcement, including one count of drug conspiracy, one count of money laundering, and one count of conspiracy to sell counterfeit and mislabeled drugs.
Nils Andersen-Röed, Global Head of Binance’s Financial Intelligence Unit, stated, “Despite criminals’ sophisticated attempts to evade tracking with various encryption technologies, this case once again proves that blockchain is not a lawless place, and digital footprints left by virtual asset transactions are a crucial source of intelligence to combat crime.” Nils emphasized, “In the face of increasingly complex virtual asset investigation cases, international cooperation and public-private collaboration are no longer options but necessities.” Previously, Binance played a key role in another case led by the European Police Office, Europol, in disrupting one of the world’s largest child exploitation networks, Kidflix, assisting in uncovering the inner workings of Kidflix’s payment infrastructure and identifying over a hundred Kidflix user identities. These successful cases not only demonstrate Binance’s firm commitment to collaborative security but also showcase its strong resources and capabilities in combating financial crimes and maintaining the security of the virtual asset ecosystem.
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