BALTIMORE (WBFF) — A Baltimore man, Kennard Joyner, 51, who admitted to leading a large-scale fentanyl trafficking ring, has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland announced Thursday.
Joyner pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Prosecutors said he oversaw an operation responsible for distributing substantial quantities of fentanyl across the Baltimore region.
The investigation began in December 2024, when the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) received a tip regarding a planned drug-proceeds pickup in Baltimore. Joyner arranged for what he believed was a courier to collect approximately $252,000, but the courier was an undercover DEA agent.
In March 2025, investigators observed a courier under Joyner’s direction deliver a black bag to a co-conspirator. Howard County police intercepted the vehicle shortly afterward and recovered the bag containing:
100 cannisters of fentanyl
870 gelcaps of xylazine
20 vials of cocaine
21 vials of methamphetamine
Federal agents executed search warrants in June 2025 at Joyner’s home and a second rented location. At his residence, authorities seized $277,476 in cash, bundled or heat-sealed in bags, along with ledgers tracking his financial activity, including 13 documented money drops totaling more than $2 million from November 2024 to January 2025.
At the second location, agents recovered approximately 1,975 grams of fentanyl mixture and 253 grams of cocaine.
Joyner’s sentence reflects the seriousness of his role in a sophisticated drug trafficking operation that posed a significant threat to the Baltimore community.
