The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE


Tribune Chief Reporter


lrolle@tribunemedia.net

CONVICTED drug trafficker Jonathan Gardiner has been indicted in Georgia over an alleged conspiracy to move massive quantities of cocaine from The Bahamas into the United States, including shipments prosecutors say could exceed 2,000 kilograms at a time.

Each shipment had an estimated street value of upwards of $120 million.

US Attorney Theodore S Hertzberg described Gardiner, operating out of The Bahamas, as a ‘recidivist felon, alleged high-level drug trafficker, and priority target,’ adding that he ‘will be held accountable for his crimes.”

The new indictment said he used various aliases including ‘Player,’ ‘Progress,’ and Doctor.’

Jae W. Chung, Special Agent in charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division said: “International cocaine trafficking fuels addiction, violence, and organzed criminal activity that impacts communities across the United States.”

The new charges deepen Gardiner’s legal troubles as he awaits trial in New York on separate cocaine and firearms conspiracy allegations linked to a wider case accusing Bahamian law enforcement officers and other officials of helping traffickers use the country as a transit point.

The indictment, unsealed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, charges Gardiner, from Long Island, with conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States and conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute.

US prosecutors allege the conspiracy operated from at least December 2022 to May 2026 and involved large shipments delivered to drug trafficking organisations that distributed cocaine across several states after it arrived in metropolitan Atlanta.

According to the DEA, Gardiner was capable of supplying more than 2,000 kilograms of cocaine at a time.

“Operating from The Bahamas, Gardiner allegedly coordinated the delivery of massive quantities of cocaine into the Northern District of Georgia and elsewhere,” said the DEA press release.

The indictment alleges Gardiner conspired with Charles “Silk” Dunn, Ernest Mordeau “Shorty” Deas, Afiba Small John “Feebs”, Brittney Hicks and others to import at least five kilograms of cocaine into the United States. Gardiner is also accused of conspiring with the same group to possess at least five kilograms of cocaine with intent to distribute between December 2022 and May 2026.

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

The Tribune revealed Gardiner’s alleged connection to the Georgia trafficking organisation in June after several of its alleged members emerged in court documents filed in his New York case.

Dunn, who lived a life of luxury in a mansion outside of Atlanta, is alleged to be the leader of the Georgia drug trafficking organisation, while Deas is also named as a participant.

They are among 20 defendants charged in connection with the alleged Georgia scheme. Thirteen have pleaded guilty, although Dunn and Deas are not among them.

In a May 15 affidavit, a DEA special agent identified two alleged Gardiner co-conspirators only as “CC-1” and “CC-2”. The Tribune later confirmed them as Dunn and Deas through its review of the affidavits and related court records.

The same affidavit alleges that a senior Bahamian political figure, identified only as “Politician-1”, discussed a $30m narcotics shipment inside Parliament.

Court documents previously reported by The Tribune say Gardiner and Deas were incarcerated at the same federal prison in Florida in 2007 and 2008 while serving sentences connected to drug trafficking and money laundering offences.

Steven N Schrank, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Georgia and Alabama, said Gardiner’s arrest underscored the agency’s pursuit of transnational criminal organisations.

He said the department remained committed to dismantling trafficking networks that threatened communities, regardless of where those allegedly responsible operated.

If Gardiner is convicted, prosecutors are seeking the forfeiture of proceeds allegedly obtained from the offences and property used to commit or facilitate the alleged crimes.

They are also seeking a money judgment equal to the value of proceeds generated by the alleged trafficking.

The indictment says that if assets subject to forfeiture cannot be located or have been transferred or sold, prosecutors will seek other property belonging to Gardiner up to the value of the forfeitable assets.

The Georgia indictment follows Gardiner’s arrest on Election Day after an aircraft carrying him from Marsh Harbour, Abaco, to Grand Bahama crashed off the Florida coast.

Gardiner and the other survivors were rescued by the US military in international waters and flown to Florida, where he was arrested.

He was subsequently taken to New York and charged with conspiracy to import cocaine and firearms-related offences. He has denied those allegations.

Defence filings say the $30,000 Gardiner was carrying when the aircraft crashed was “campaign related cash being transported on the day of a national election.”

The filings also revealed that about $20,000 in Bahamian currency had been withdrawn a day earlier, on May 11, from a business account in the name of Top Notch Builders. A withdrawal notice was submitted as evidence.

Gardiner’s New York case links him to the November 2024 indictment of former police chief superintendent Elvis Curtis and 12 others.

That indictment accuses Bahamian officials, including law enforcement officers, of helping facilitate drug trafficking operations.

US prosecutors allege traffickers used The Bahamas as a transit point to move large quantities of cocaine into the United States with the assistance of Bahamian officials.

Only one defendant has admitted his role in that alleged plot so far: former Royal Bahamas Defence Force officer Darrin Alexander Roker, 51.