US-based Nigerian, accomplice jailed 40 years for dark web drug trafficking

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US-based Nigerian, accomplice jailed 40 years for dark web drug trafficking

A U.S. court has sentenced Nigerian-born Oluwole Adegboruwa, 54, and his accomplice, Enrique Isong, 49, to a combined 40 years in prison for orchestrating a multi-million-dollar dark web drug trafficking operation.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah revealed the sentencing in a statement on Friday.

Adegboruwa was sentenced to 30 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release, and ordered to forfeit over $20 million—the largest forfeiture ever imposed in the District of Utah for such crimes. His co-defendant, Isong, received a 10-year prison sentence and three years of supervised release.

Court documents and trial evidence revealed that between October 2016 and May 2019, Adegboruwa sold more than 300,000 oxycodone pills through dark web marketplaces, amassing $9.1 million in illicit drug proceeds.

Operating a sophisticated criminal enterprise, Adegboruwa supervised a team responsible for sourcing, packaging, and shipping pharmacy-grade pills across the U.S.

Payments were primarily processed through cryptocurrency accounts he controlled.

Adegboruwa admitted to launching the dark web operation and managing both sales and financial accounts, including cryptocurrency transactions that concealed the enterprise’s profits.

U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins stated the importance of dismantling such operations:

“Protecting the community from illicit drugs and dismantling drug trafficking operations is a priority for my office and our law enforcement partners.”

Jonathan Pullen, DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division Special Agent in Charge, added:

“This sentencing is a stark reminder that drug traffickers cannot hide their illicit activities even in the secretive expanses of the dark web.”

Carissa Messick of the IRS Criminal Investigation’s Phoenix Field Office pointed out the significance of the forfeiture, stating:

“The forfeiture amount signifies the magnitude of the investigation and our relentless commitment to following the money to uncover illegal schemes.”

The case was jointly investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, IRS-CI.

Prosecutors Thaddeus J. May, Jennifer E. Gully, and Stewart M. Young of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah handled the case.