Plane crash survivor linked to international drug trafficking operation, DEA says

MELBOURNE, Fla. - A man rescued in an 11-person small plane crash off the coast of Florida has been linked to a Georgia-based drug trafficking operation. 

Drug Enforcement Administration officials say Jonathan Eric Gardiner, 58 – who was rescued after the plane crash 80 miles off the coast of Melbourne – was found with $30,000 in Bahamian currency.

What we know:

Jonathan Eric Gardiner, 58, was one of 11 people involved in a plane crash off the coast of Florida on May 12. 

The plane reportedly departed Marsh Harbour, Bahamas and was en route to Freeport when it experienced engine failure, the Air Force said. 

Upon being rescued, Gardiner was found carrying three phones and a cross-body bag with approximately $30,000 in Bahamian currency, the DEA said. The cash was packed "in a manner consistent with narcotics proceeds," the DEA special agent said in charging documents. 

The money had a handwritten label of a person's name – which was redacted in court documents and referred to as "Politician-1." 

Gardiner is a known international narcotics trafficker based in the Bahamas, the DEA said. 

He's being charged with cocaine importation conspiracy, court documents, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, said.

A bag of cash, totaling to $30,000 in Bahamian currency was found on Jonathan Eric Gardiner when he was rescued. (Source: SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK complaint evidence)

The backstory:

Gardiner was previously convicted of federal narcotics and money laundering offenses. He was sentenced to 220 months in prison before being deported to the Bahamas in 2014, court documents say. 

In June 2024, Gardiner was indicted as one of 14 individuals for federal narcotics offenses arising from of his participation with a drug trafficking organization known as Georgia-DTO. Gardiner was a foreign supplier of cocaine for Georgia-DTO – who sent a multi-kilogram shipment of cocaine from the Bahamas to Miami in February 2023. 

According to information the DEA obtained from witnesses, Gardiner owns a business in which he bids on Bahamian-government-issued contracts and launders his narcotics and trafficking proceeds, court documents say. 

What they're saying:

Gardiner's attorney released a statement to FOX 35, saying,

"While (we) are still investigating the allegations in the Government's Complaint, we maintain our client's innocence and look forward to aggressively defending against any charges put forth in a future indictment," Gardiner's attorney said. 

What's next:

Gardiner was placed on an immigration hold on May 15. His next court appearance is May 21 at 9:30 a.m.