On the 8th, the global virtual asset exchange Binance announced that it has contributed to the dismantling of the dark web platform "Incognito Market," which intermediated illegal drug distribution exceeding $100 million, in cooperation with law enforcement authorities from the U.S. and Taiwan.
"Incognito Market" is a dark web-based platform that has mediated the trafficking of over 1,000 types of illegal substances and drugs, including heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine, over several years. The platform has built its own banking system to enhance the security and convenience of transactions, utilizing virtual assets as a payment method.
The Binance Financial Information Analysis Team disabled the platform's advanced security devices and multi-firewall systems, tracking wallet addresses within the internal banking system to identify illegal fund flows. In this process, it identified the operator Louis Xiang Lin, a Taiwanese national known as 'Pharaoh,' and provided this information to law enforcement agencies, contributing to the freezing of approximately $3.5 million (about 480 million won) worth of virtual assets held in the Incognito Market's wallet, thus helping to block the organization's financial network.
This operation, conducted under the name 'Operation RapTor,' is recorded as the largest-scale dark web crackdown to date. A total of 270 sellers, buyers, and operators have been arrested, predominantly in the U.S. and Europe, with over $200 million in cash and virtual assets seized, as well as 2 tons of drugs, including 144 kilograms of fentanyl, and 180 firearms.
Binance has stated that it will continue to respond strongly to crimes that misuse virtual assets through cooperation with global law enforcement agencies, as in this case. Earlier, in May, Binance supported Europol, which was investigating a child sexual exploitation platform, and traced blockchain-based transaction histories to identify over 120 criminals.
Niels Andersen-Roed, head of the Binance Financial Information Analysis Team, noted, "This incident clearly shows that virtual assets are no longer a safe refuge for crime," adding, "Every virtual asset transaction leaves a digital trace, and law enforcement's tracking technologies are becoming increasingly sophisticated." He further emphasized, "Cross-border public-private cooperation is an essential element to countering advanced virtual asset crimes."