A federal jury has convicted a California man and a Maryland woman in connection with a drug-trafficking operation that transported cocaine from California to Maryland, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.
Kobie Farmer, 49, of Hollywood, California, was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. Kenia Rodriguez, 27, of Dundalk, Maryland, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.
According to federal prosecutors, Farmer obtained large quantities of cocaine in California through contacts with Mexican drug cartels and arranged for the drugs to be transported to Baltimore. The operation used commercial airline luggage and rental vehicles to move cocaine across the country, with Rodriguez among those involved in transporting the drugs.
Between June 2023 and March 2024, authorities seized more than 100 kilograms of cocaine connected to the operation. The seizures included 15 kilograms at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in June 2023, 75 kilograms from a supplier in Baltimore and 15 kilograms from Rodriguez during a traffic stop in Kansas in December 2023.
Federal prosecutors said intercepted communications and text messages helped establish Farmer’s role in directing the operation.
Both Farmer and Rodriguez face mandatory minimum sentences of 10 years in federal prison, with maximum possible sentences of life imprisonment. Four other individuals connected to the operation have already received federal prison sentences ranging from 10 to 13 years.
