Salt Lake City, UT — Oluwole Adegboruwa, 54, of Las Vegas, Nevada, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for his role as the mastermind behind a multi-million-dollar dark web drug trafficking operation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah announced today. U.S. District Court Judge Jill N. Parish also imposed a lifetime term of supervised release on Adegboruwa and ordered him to forfeit over $20 million in assets.
From October 2016 to May 2019, Adegboruwa distributed over 300,000 oxycodone pills through dark web marketplaces, supplying buyers across the United States. His trafficking operation grossed approximately $9.1 million in drug proceeds, according to the department.
Adegboruwa was convicted for organizing and directing a continuous criminal enterprise, with a jury finding that he played a central role in every aspect of the operation. His network included individuals responsible for sourcing pharmacy-grade pills, packaging, and shipping them to customers. Adegboruwa himself managed the dark web sales and oversaw the financial accounts of the enterprise, including cryptocurrency accounts where the majority of the proceeds were funneled.
A Vast and Sophisticated Drug Scheme
The operation, which utilized encrypted dark web platforms for the sale of illegal drugs, was highly organized and involved a complex money-laundering structure. Adegboruwa acknowledged his involvement in initiating the operation and managing the financial operations that allowed it to flourish.
The case was a significant win for IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), which conducted the investigation and tracked the illicit profits back to Adegboruwa’s accounts. “Money laundering continues to be a top investigative priority for IRS-CI,” said Carissa Messick, Special Agent in Charge of the IRS-CI Phoenix Field Office. “The forfeiture amount in this case alone highlights the magnitude of the investigation and IRS-CI’s commitment to uncovering illegal schemes by following the money.”
A High-Profile Criminal Case
Adegboruwa’s sentence is a major victory in the fight against dark web trafficking and illegal drug distribution. His conviction serves as a warning about the serious consequences of organizing large-scale illicit operations and laundering criminal proceeds.
Adegboruwa’s 30-year prison sentence is one of the longest handed down in connection with dark web drug operations, and his lifetime supervised release ensures that he will remain under close scrutiny upon completion of his sentence.