A U.S. court has sentenced a Nigerian, Oluwole Adegboruwa, 54, and his accomplice, Enrique Isong, 49, to a combined 40 years in prison for operating a sophisticated dark web drug trafficking network.
The duo, convicted of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and money laundering, ran the operation from 2016 to 2019, selling over 300,000 oxycodone pills through dark web marketplaces across the United States. The operation generated $9.1 million in drug proceeds, primarily concealed through cryptocurrency transactions.
U.S. District Judge Jill N. Parish sentenced Adegboruwa to 30 years in prison, lifetime supervised release, and the forfeiture of over $20 million—one of the largest forfeitures ever recorded by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah. Isong received a 10-year prison term and three years of supervised release.
The court described Adegboruwa as the mastermind of the operation, overseeing sales, managing finances, and assigning roles to accomplices who procured, packaged, and shipped pills.
Law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), jointly investigated the case.
“This sentencing is a stark reminder that drug traffickers cannot hide their illicit activities, even on the dark web,” stated DEA Special Agent Jonathan Pullen.
Prosecutors have lauded the case as a major success in combating dark web criminal enterprises and holding offenders accountable.
