Baltimore, Maryland – A federal jury convicted a California man and Maryland woman of crimes connected to a bi-coastal drug-trafficking organization (DTO). This prosecution is in connection with a Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) drug investigation.

The jury found Kobie Farmer, 49, of Hollywood, guilty of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. Additionally, the jury found Kenia Rodriguez, 27, of Dundalk, guilty of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Federal authorities began investigating Farmer’s drug operation in May 2023.

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the guilty verdict with Special Agent in Charge Cindy Marx, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) – Washington Division; Special Agent in Charge Akil Baldwin, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) – Maryland; Special Agent in Charge Kareem Carter, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Washington D.C. Field Office; Chief Robert O. McCullough, Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD); Chief Richard Worley, Baltimore City Police Department (BPD); and Secretary Carolyn J. Scruggs, Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS).

At trial, the Government presented evidence that Farmer, with the assistance of cartel contacts in Mexico, purchased wholesale quantities of cocaine in California and then transported it to Baltimore for distribution. Farmer directed others, including Rodriguez, to fly his drugs on commercial flights in checked-in luggage and used drug couriers, including Rodriguez, to transport his drugs in rental vehicles across the country. During the investigation, authorities learned how Farmer and his co-conspirators concealed kilograms of cocaine in luggage checked in on commercial flights, without the ticketed passenger, to transport cocaine from California to Baltimore. In June 2023, at the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, law enforcement seized 15 kilograms of cocaine from checked in-luggage without the ticketed passenger, Deondrae Stull, 35, of Cambridge, Maryland, from one of Farmer’s drug couriers. Authorities then identified one of Farmer’s drug suppliers, Mario Valencia-Birruetta, 40, of Corning, California, and seized 75 kilograms of cocaine from him in Baltimore. Then law enforcement uncovered Farmer’s text messages with Valencia-Birruetta which revealed that the co-conspirators coordinated that cocaine delivery to Baltimore. Additionally, in October 2023, authorities seized 19 kilograms of cocaine Farmer distributed from his Baltimore stash location to Linnard Wortham, 41, of Baltimore, Maryland. In December, Kansas authorities seized 15 kilograms of cocaine from Rodriguez, who was transporting Farmer’s cocaine in a rental vehicle from California. From June 2023 to March 2024, law enforcement seized more than 100 kilograms of cocaine from Farmer’s DTO. These seizures led to court authorization to intercept wire and electronic communications from Farmer’s cellphone. During a March 2024 intercepted call, Farmer acknowledged he was the DTO’s leader and discussed his Mexican drug-cartel connections.

Farmer is facing a 10-year mandatory minimum with a maximum of life in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. Rodriguez is facing a 10-year mandatory minimum with a maximum of life in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.

U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar previously sentenced the following co-conspirators:Desmond Jones, 46, of Baltimore, to 156 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances;Wortham to 140 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances; Valencia-Birruetta to 121 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances; andStull to 120 months in federal prison, for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Baltimore comprises agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); the United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the District of Maryland; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); the United States Marshals Service (USMS); the Washington/Baltimore HIDTA (W/B HIDTA); the Maryland State Police (MSP); the Baltimore Police Department (BPD); and the Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD) with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.

U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the DEA, HSI, IRS-CI, BCPD, BPD, and DPSCS for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Calvin C. Miner and Stanton Lawyer, who are prosecuting the federal case, along with Paralegal Specialist Briana Scarborough, for her valuable assistance and legal support.

For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, visit justice.gov/usao-md. # # #