SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Nov. 21, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — In a case prosecutors said proves the dark web isn’t dark enough, an oxycodone dealer has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for running a $20 million operation.
Oluwole Adegboruwa, 54, of Las Vegas, Nevada, the main defendant and mastermind in a multi-million dollar dark web drug trafficking operation was sentenced to 30 years of imprisonment, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Utah. The sentencing last week came after his conviction at trial in Salt Lake City’s federal court in May.
Adegboruwa was also ordered to undergo supervised release for life after serving the 30 years “and the forfeiture of over $20 million, which 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,” according to the press release.
Per evidence presented at his May trial, Adegboruwa sold more than 300,000 oxycodone pills to customers on dark web marketplaces, including Hansa, Dream Market, Wall Street Market, and Alphabay, which have since been dismantled by law enforcement, prosecutors said.
Customers paid Adegboruwa, who operated his vendor pages as “King Odua” and “Alagbada726,” with cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, which he later sold for traditional currency.
“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.”
The case was investigated jointly by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI).
Assistant United States Attorneys Thaddeus J. May, Jennifer E. Gully, and Stewart M. Young of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah prosecuted the case.
Adegboruwa testified at trial that he was the only one who had access to his vendor pages on the dark web markets to process orders from customers. He then directed others in Las Vegas and in Los Angeles to package and ship the pills around the United States.
At trial Adegboruwa also 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. He said he was the one who decided to start his online dark web drug sales operation which flourished fromOctober 2016 through May 2019.
