Dino Gardiakos, co-owner of Chicago nightclub Spybar, was sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to manufacturing and delivering narcotics, Mixmag reported, citing CWB Chicago. The 46-year-old was sentenced by a court on Tuesday, July 28, after being arrested in 2024 returning from London to Chicago O'Hare International Airport with around six kilos of ketamine concealed in seven containers inside his luggage.
Gardiakos had reportedly told investigators he bought the ketamine in London and was coached by the seller on how to conceal it to get through customs.
He was already on probation at the time of his 2024 arrest, tied to an earlier case: a 2021 police raid on his home, prompted by a suspicious intercepted package, turned up roughly $240,000 worth of drugs, including mushrooms, cannabis and ketamine. Gardiakos pleaded guilty to a single count of possession from that raid and received two years of second-chance probation, which has now been terminated following his most recent arrest.
Spybar said at the time of the 2024 arrest that its team was "shocked and saddened" by the allegations and stressed the club maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward illegal activity.
Gardiakos must now serve the six-year sentence following his guilty plea.
The facts
- Sentenced to six years for smuggling roughly six kilos of ketamine
- Sentenced by a court on Tuesday, July 28, 2026
- Was on probation from a 2021 drug case, now terminated, at the time of his 2024 arrest
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