Owner of Chicago’s Spybar Arrested and Charged with Drug Trafficking

Dino Gardiakos, the owner of Spybar, was arrested on Wednesday at O’Hare International Airport while allegedly in possession of ketamine and ecstasy.

The long-time owner of Chicago’s famed nightclub Spybar, Dino Gardiakos, was traveling from London back to Chicago when he was arrested shortly after landing at O’Hare International Airport and has since been charged with drug trafficking. Prosecutors allege that Gardiakos, who was already on a “second chance probation” for felony drug offenses related to a raid on his West Town home in 2021, was trying to smuggle narcotics through customs.

Just after midnight on Wednesday, officers at O’Hare International Airport allegedly found six containers filled with 14 pounds worth of ketamine, with law enforcement officials also allegedly discovering a pill bottle that contained roughly 5.8 grams of ecstasy. Cook County sheriff’s police and federal agencies arrested him shortly thereafter, according to their official statement.

According to a report by WGN, after being read his Miranda Rights, Gardiakos admitted to deputies that he had purchased six kilograms of ketamine from someone in London and that the drugs were both for personal use and profit in the Chicagoland area. Additionally, prosecutors say that the person in London whom he purchased the drugs from informed him how to conceal and smuggle them through customs at O’Hare International Airport.

Gardiakos faces felony charges of drug trafficking and possession of a controlled substance. He appeared in court on Thursday and has since been released under pre-trial conditions, including surrendering his passport and orders to stay in Illinois. The next court date for Gardiakos is scheduled for April 5.

Stay tuned for more news on this developing story.

H/t: ABC7 Chicago and WGN