A 54-year-old United States-based Nigerian, Mr Oluwole Adegboruwa, has been sentenced to 30 years of imprisonment for selling drugs online.
According to a press statement release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah, Adegboruwa, who is based in Las Vegas, Nevada, was also ordered supervised release for life and the forfeiture of over $20 million (about N31, 128,800,000.00).
He is described as the main defendant and mastermind in a multi-million dollar dark web drug trafficking operation.
The forfeited sum, according to the statement, is among the largest forfeitures holding a defendant financially accountable for his crimes in the history of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah.
The sentence, imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Jill N. Parish, comes after a jury found Adegboruwa and his co-defendant Enrique Isong, 49, of Los Angeles, California, guilty in May 2024 of multiple federal crimes, including conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and money laundering.
On October 23, 2024, Isong was sentenced to ten years of imprisonment and three years of supervised release.
According to court documents, evidence presented at trial, and statements made at Adegboruwa’s sentencing hearing, from October 2016 through May 2019, Adegboruwa, sold more than 300,000 oxycodone pills on dark web marketplaces to customers throughout the United States.
The jury found that Adegboruwa organised and supervised a continuing criminal enterprise that earned approximately $9,112,471 (about N141, 636.04) in drug proceeds.
The court found that Adegboruwa was unquestionably in charge of the illicit narcotics operation.
“Each member of his enterprise served in different capacities. Some were tasked with locating and procuring pharmacy grade pills that were then re-sold through various dark web marketplaces.
“Others were involved in packaging the pills and/or shipping them to customers.
“At trial, Adegboruwa admitted that he controlled sales on the dark web markets and the monetary accounts, including the cryptocurrency accounts through which the enterprise received the bulk of its profits.
“Adegboruwa also admitted he was the one who decided to start his online dark web drug sales operation,” the statement said.
“Protecting the community from illicit drugs and dismantling drug trafficking operations is a priority for my office and our law enforcement partners,” said U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins of the District of Utah. “We will continue to prosecute and seek justice for these crimes.”
“This case further demonstrates that true anonymity on the dark web is a myth,” said U.S. Postal Inspection Services State Phoenix Division Inspector in Charge Glen Henderson. “U.S. Postal Inspectors remain steadfast in their commitment to dismantling drug trafficking operations, ensuring the safety of USPS customers and employees alike.”
“Adegboruwa’s criminal drug enterprise was complex, sophisticated, and generated millions of dollars in profits concealed in cryptocurrency transactions. This sentencing is a stark reminder that the DEA is relentless in the pursuit of justice, and that drug traffickers cannot hide their illicit activities even in the secretive expanses of the dark web,” said the special agent in charge of Drug Enforcement Administration, Rocky Mountain Field Division, Jonathan Pullen remarked.
Also commenting on the case, the special agent in charge of Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Phoenix Field, Carissa Messick said: “Money laundering continues to be a top investigative priority for Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI).
“The forfeiture amount in this case alone highlights the magnitude of the investigation conducted by IRS-CI special agents, its impact on our community, and IRS-CI’s relentless commitment to uncovering illegal schemes by following the money.”