The Tribune

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Digital Editor

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

ACCUSED Bahamian drug trafficker Jonathan Eric Gardiner has now been indicted in Georgia on federal cocaine trafficking charges after US authorities arrested him following his rescue from the Election Day plane crash in the Atlantic Ocean.

Gardiner is already at the centre of a political controversy in The Bahamas after separate US court filings alleged that an unidentified senior Bahamian politician met an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration source inside a Parliament building in October 2024 to discuss a proposed $30m cocaine shipment. Police Commissioner Shanta Knowles has said a special team is investigating the allegations.

According to a press release issued by the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the indictment was unsealed in the Northern District of Georgia.

It charges the 58-year-old Long Island resident, also known as “Player”, with conspiracy to import a controlled substance into the United States and conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute.

“Operating from The Bahamas, Gardiner allegedly coordinated the delivery of massive quantities of cocaine into the Northern District of Georgia and elsewhere,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. 

“Because of the quick action and dedication of federal law enforcement in Atlanta’s Homeland Security Task Force, this recidivist felon, alleged high-level drug trafficker, and priority target will be held accountable for his crimes.”

US prosecutors allege Gardiner supplied large quantities of cocaine to drug trafficking organisations operating in the Northern District of Georgia and elsewhere from approximately December 2022 to May 2026.

They allege he was capable of supplying more than 2,000 kilograms of cocaine at a time. The drugs were allegedly transported to the Atlanta metropolitan area before being distributed to several states.

The charges follow the May 14 plane crash off the coast of Florida involving a private aircraft carrying Gardiner and ten other people.

The US Coast Guard rescued all 11 occupants, including Gardiner, who authorities said was carrying $30,000 in Bahamian currency.

Federal authorities said more than 20 alleged members of the drug trafficking organisation have previously been charged in the investigation, with 13 pleading guilty.

The DEA also referred to Gardiner’s previous federal conviction, which was reported by The Tribune.

Nearly 20 years ago, Gardiner was convicted in the Southern District of Florida of conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States and was sentenced to more than 18 years in federal prison.

Gardiner is in the custody of the US Marshals Service awaiting trial on separate cocaine and firearms conspiracy charges in the Southern District of New York, where he has pleaded not guilty.

He is expected to appear in the Northern District of Georgia at a later date.

The Georgia case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the US Coast Guard and other federal, state and local agencies.

The indictment contains allegations, and Gardiner is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.