Fentanyl, Cocaine & Sex Trafficking: MD Man Sentenced In VA Hotel Bust

BALTIMORE, MD – A 34-year-old man from Baltimore was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison in connection with a drug and prostitution ring operated out of a hotel in Dumfries, Virginia.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, two men were sentenced Wednesday over the Red Carpet Inn’s third-floor drug den:

• Rashard Perrish Smith, 34, of Baltimore, MD, was sentenced to 18 years and four months in prison for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine
• Tarun Sharma, 55, of Dumfries, was sentenced to seven years in prison for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and managing a drug-involved premises.

A third man, Joshua Roderick, 41, of Alexandria, was sentenced on Sept. 18 to 15 years and 10 months in prison.

According to court documents, Roderick and Smith regularly sold fentanyl and cocaine out of the Red Carpet Inn in Dumfries, which was operated by Kosha and Tarun Sharma. The hotel’s operators used its third floor to house a well-known drug and sex trafficking market, where Roderick, Smith and others sold drugs.

Prosecutors say the Sharmas charged more for third-floor rooms, with patrons understanding that they were paying a fee for access to the market, and that Kosha collected payment door-to-door on that floor daily.

Police say multiple overdoses occurred at the hotel, including two fatal cases.

The Sharmas have been convicted on drug distribution charges, with Kosha sentenced to 10 years in prison in September.

According to the DOJ, the Sharmas are present in the United States illegally and will be turned over to ICE following the completion of their sentences.