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A Bahamian passenger who recently survived an emergency landing of a turboprop off the coast of Florida was arrested the following day for his alleged involvement in an international drug trafficking network, according to a federal complaint for conspiracy to import cocaine.
Jonathan Eric Gardiner, known as "Player", was rescued on May 12 along with 10 other people after a Beechcraft King Air 300 fell into the sea while traveling from Marsh Harbour, on the Bahamian island of Great Abaco, to Grand Bahama International Airport in Freeport.
The aircraft experienced an engine failure, and the pilot made an emergency landing in the water about 50 miles (80 km) from Vero Beach, Florida. Following this, all 10 passengers, three of whom sustained minor injuries, were safely transferred to a yellow life raft, reported the broadcaster Telemundo.
The 11 people on board were rescued by the 920th Rescue Wing of the United States Air Force, which deployed an HC-130J Combat King II, an HH-60W Jolly Green II, and pararescue personnel, completing nine hoist operations in seas with heights of three to five feet.
The survivors were transferred to Melbourne Orlando International Airport for medical attention, and all were reported in stable condition.
According to the source, when Gardiner was taken into custody again after the rescue, he was carrying three cell phones and a crossbody bag with approximately 30,000 Bahamian dollars, labeled with the handwritten name of a Bahamian politician allegedly linked to the conspiracy.
The federal indictment describes him as a "foreign cocaine supplier" for a drug trafficking organization based in Georgia, against which a formal charge was filed in 2024, implicating around 14 individuals.
According to court documents, in February 2023, Gardiner allegedly supplied a shipment of several kilograms of cocaine to that organization, sent from the Bahamas to Miami and received by other members already charged.
The report also links him to a planned shipment of between 900 and 1,000 kilograms of cocaine from Colombia destined for the Bahamas, scheduled for November 2024.
The shipment was discussed in a video-recorded meeting between the Bahamian politician and an indicted Colombian drug trafficker, who talked about the details of transporting "a large quantity" from Colombia through the Bahamas.
The complaint alleges that Gardiner was part of the conspiracy at least since 2023.
This case is not Gardiner's first encounter with the U.S. federal justice system, as he was convicted in 2006 and sentenced to 18 years in prison for federal narcotics and money laundering offenses, after which he was deported to the Bahamas in 2014, once he had served part of his sentence.
Gardiner appeared before a federal court in Orlando on May 13 under a rule five detention, a procedure that applies when the case was filed in another federal jurisdiction.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the causes of the plane crash; authorities have not linked the incident to drug trafficking, as the apparent cause is a mechanical failure of the engine.
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