Opposition Leader: “I’m Not Surprised, We’ve Been Trying to Warn About This All Along”

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Opposition Leader Michael Pntard, weighing in on allegations of a Bahamian politician, caught up in a drug smuggling conspiracy, describing it as not surprising.

According to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Friday, a Bahamian politician was caught on a wiretap with an undercover U.S. agent within the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), discussing a possible drug deal in Parliament in 2024.

The DEA also claims, Jonathan Eric Gardiner, a Bahamian, who was one of the 11 passengers on a plane that crashed in waters off Florida on Election Day, was allegedly moving tons of cocaine through The Bahamas, with the protection of Bahamian government officials and high-ranking politicians.

Investigators say Gardiner had $30,000 in cash when he was arrested after the Election Day plane crash.

A photo of evidence from the incident showed cash in a bag marked with a name that was redacted and labeled “Politician-1.”

Speaking to reporters after receiving his instruments of appointment, Pintard had this reaction:

Michael Pintard – Opposition Leader

“During the entire election cycle and before again, we issued warnings about the close relationship between members of this administration and characters of interest to police locally and international, so I’m not surprised, but the Bahamian people being fully aware made a decision.”

However, that’s not all.

The affidavit, also links a New York lawsuit, unsealed in 2024, where Bahamian law enforcement officers – RBPF Chief Superintendent Elvis Nathaniel Curtis, Sergeant Prince Albert Symonette, and RBDF Petty Officer Darrin Alexander Roker were implicated in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy.

That lawsuit, also mentions the involvement of a high-ranking Bahamian politician, but never named the person.

Commissioner Clayton Fernander, resigned in December of that year in the wake of the conspiracy, but however, no politician stepped down.

Pintard says he’s not confident the prime minister will hold any one accountable.

Michael Pintard – Opposition Leader

“This is not a new matter, they’ve not demonstrated an interest in the past. They’ve signed multiple contracts with persons who are interest to the police locally and internationally. I don’t expect them to do anything different than behave the way they’ve been behaving all along.”