Alleged cartel leader indicted in Atlanta after ocean plane crash
Jonathan Eric Gardiner booking photo (Credit: Seminole County Sheriff's Office)
ATLANTA - A Bahamian man faces federal drug trafficking charges in Atlanta after U.S. officials rescued him from an Atlantic Ocean plane crash, federal prosecutors announced.
What we know:
Federal authorities unsealed an indictment charging 58-year-old Jonathan Eric Gardiner, also known as "Player," with conspiracy to import controlled substances and conspiracy to distribute them, according to state prosecutors.
Gardiner allegedly operated from The Bahamas, supplying massive cocaine shipments to organizations in the Northern District of Georgia from approximately December 2022 to May 2026.
Prosecutors stated Gardiner could distribute over 2,000 kilograms of cocaine at a time, which local networks then spread across metro Atlanta and into multiple states.
Federal agents arrested Gardiner after the U.S. Coast Guard rescued him and ten other passengers from the Atlantic Ocean when their private plane crashed off the Florida coast in May.
At the time of his rescue, Gardiner had $30,000 in Bahamian currency in his possession. The money had a handwritten label of a person's name – which was redacted in court documents and referred to as "Politician-1," according to FOX 35 Orlando.
Nearly 20 years ago, Gardiner served over 18 years in federal prison following a cocaine importation conviction in Florida.
A federal grand jury in Georgia indicted Gardiner on June 9, and he remains in U.S. Marshals Service custody.
More than 20 alleged members of his distribution organization were previously charged, with 13 pleading guilty.
What we don't know:
Officials have not yet confirmed the specific date Gardiner will appear in the Northern District of Georgia, as he is currently in custody awaiting trial on additional drug charges in the Southern District of New York. Authorities have not disclosed the exact cause of the private plane crash in the Atlantic Ocean.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg of the Northern District of Georgia, who detailed the charges in an official announcement, as well as statements from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, and Homeland Security Investigations.