Nigerian National Sentenced to 30 Years for Dark Web Drug Trafficking Scheme; Accomplice Receives 10-Year Term

Oluwole Adegboruwa, a Nigeria-born individual based in the United States, and his accomplice, Enrique Isong, have been sentenced to a combined 40 years in prison for orchestrating a large-scale drug trafficking operation through the dark web. Adegboruwa, the mastermind behind the multi-million-dollar syndicate, was sentenced to 30 years in prison in November 2024, while Isong received a 10-year sentence in October 2024.

Adegboruwa, 54, of Las Vegas, Nevada, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and money laundering, alongside Isong, 49, of Los Angeles, California. The pair operated an illicit drug distribution network from October 2016 to May 2019, selling over 300,000 oxycodone pills via dark web marketplaces to customers across the United States. The operation generated an estimated $9 million in drug proceeds, a portion of which Adegboruwa concealed using cryptocurrency transactions.

In addition to his prison sentence, Adegboruwa was ordered to forfeit $20 million, marking one of the largest financial forfeitures in the history of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah. The court also imposed life-long supervised release after his prison term ends.

The drug operation involved a complex network of individuals, with Adegboruwa overseeing the procurement, packaging, and distribution of oxycodone pills. He admitted to controlling the sales on dark web markets, as well as the cryptocurrency accounts through which the operation received its profits. The profits were then converted into local currency.

Jonathan Pullen, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA's Rocky Mountain Field Division, emphasized the sophistication of the operation and highlighted the DEA's commitment to rooting out criminal enterprises, even those operating in the concealed corners of the dark web.