Binance assists Raptors in targeting Darknet drug network

According to U.S. and Taiwan law enforcement agencies, Binance revealed that it played a central role in demolishing the Incognito market, a notorious Darknet drug market that has fueled more than $100 million in illegal narcotics sales.

The evacuation is part of a broader international investigation, codenamed Operation Raptor, targeting operators and financial infrastructure of the DarkNet platform.

Invisible Market Closed

According to Binance’s official press release, the stealth market has sold over 1,000 illegal drugs including heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine, and relied heavily on cryptocurrencies to process transactions while masking the identity of users.

Although the platform uses encryption, privacy tools and customized internal payment systems, investigators working with Binance’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) are able to track transactions on the blockchain with individuals associated with the market. Binance’s FIU helped map the process for illegal funding and identified several crypto wallets related to platform operations.

The investigation eventually led to the Taiwanese national, named Lin and known by the alias Pharaoh, who oversaw the operation and reportedly made millions of dollars in profits. Lin was arrested and later pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court, charges including narcotic conspiracy, money laundering and misallocation of drugs.

Meanwhile, Binance’s FIU also freezes more than $3.5 million in related crypto assets, which law enforcement says will help weaken the market’s financial business.

Binance has previously assisted with similar investigations, including efforts to remove children’s exploitation platforms by tracking internal payment systems and identifying users. In an official statement, Nils Andersen-Röed, global head of Binance’s financial intelligence unit, pointed out that

“This situation is a powerful reminder that blockchain has no safe haven for criminal activity. Even with complex privacy tools, every crypto transaction leaves a digital trajectory, which is increasingly important in today’s law enforcement investigations. Cross-border collaboration and public-private partnerships are no longer optional – they are essential – they are essential.”

T3 FCU targets crypto crime

In addition to binance, another major player in the digital asset space reported similar enforcement successes.

A joint program by Tether, Thron and TRM Labs, the T3 Financial Crime Unit (T3 FCU), announced in a March update that it has frozen over $100 million in illegal crypto assets since its launch in August 2024.

The department works with global law enforcement to target crimes including money laundering, fraud and terrorist financing. T3 FCU analyses millions of transactions worldwide and monitors over $3 billion in USDT activity to undermine financial crimes in the crypto industry.